Research

My primary research interests are ethical in orientation. Since it seems to me that ethical reflection can best take place within the context of some conception of the nature of human action, thought, and feeling, my main concern so far has been with descriptive and normative issues in moral psychology. I am often influenced by ancient approaches to these issues, and so have related interests in ancient and Asian philosophy. I also have broad interests in the philosophy of religion, though I am especially interested in topics where there is some overlap with practical issues (e.g., practical arguments for religious belief, the problem of evil, metaethical views that connect morality to the divine, etc.).

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Recently Published or Forthcoming Articles

• “Spiritual, but not religious? On the nature of spirituality and its relation to religion,” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 83 (2018): 261-269. (http://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-017-9648-8).

• “Dispassion as an Ethical Ideal,” Ergo 5 (2018): 645-663. (http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/ergo.12405314.0005.024).

• “Akrasia and the Diversity of Motivation: A New Defense of Tripartition,” European Journal of Philosophy (forthcoming). (https://doi.org/10.1111/ejop.12450).

• (with Rico Vitz) “Mencius, Hume, and the Virtue of Humanity: Sources of Benevolent Moral Development,” British Journal for the History of Philosophy (forthcoming).

Work in Progress (drafts available)

• “Desire, Goodness, and Reasons”

• “Faith as an Intention to Believe”