My research explores concepts such as truth, rationality, and objectivity from a pragmatist angle. How do we use such concepts in our daily practices? My focus includes my very own practice: philosophical inquiry. I ask, for instance, whether philosophers are rational, and what it means to say that they are. And I ask whether philosophers aim for truth, which I think they don’t. I’m developing a theory of philosophical progress that can accommodate this insight.
Publications
“The Practical Bearings of Truth as Correspondence,” Erkenntnis, (2023)
“Truth and Its Uses: Deflationism and Alethic Pluralism,” Synthese, 202, 130 (2023)
“Speak No Ill of The Dead: The Dead as a Social Group ,” Synthese, 200, 210 (2022), co-written with Jacob LiBrizzi, Duccio Calosi & Yoichi Kobe
“Alethic Pluralism for Pragmatists ,” Synthese, 200, 60 (2022)
Recent Courses
PHIL 21519/31519 Metaphilosophy
What is philosophy? Is it the inquiry into the fundamental nature of reality? Or is it an inquiry into how we ought to live our lives? Is there progress in philosophy? And is this progress undermined by widespread persistent disagreement? Is there a philosophical method, and should there be one? What is the goal of philosophy? Is it knowledge, understanding, or something else?
A philosopher ought to know what they are up to. Yet, there are about as many metaphilosophical theories as there are philosophical ones. Moreover, metaphilosophy is a branch of philosophy and, as such, philosophical methodology can be informed by philosophical convictions.
The goal of this course is not to find the One True Answer to these questions. It is for you to develop your own answers, so that next time you are at a party and say you study philosophy, you can finally explain what that actually means. (B)
This course requires a basic understanding of theoretical philosophy, especially epistemology. Open to undergraduate and MA students, and all others with consent.