Research Overview

My research ranges across epistemology, ethics, and social philosophy, and especially the intersections among them. I tend to approach epistemology from a non-ideal and social perspective, focusing on our practices of epistemically evaluating others and considering social examples. My dissertation applies this approach to our practices of inquiring further into our beliefs. Crucially, I show that many phenomena that philosophers generally view as solely morally or practically evaluable in fact have important yet overlooked epistemic dimensions.

More broadly, my research has centered on three often-overlapping themes: (1) the epistemic and moral importance of our practices of inquiring; (2) the relationship between epistemic and moral accountability; and (3) applications of epistemology to social, moral, and political issues.

My dissertation, along with a corresponding handout, can be found here.


Publications

Articles

The Construction of Epistemic Normativity (w/ Michael Hannon). Philosophical Issues, provisionally forthcoming.

What’s Wrong with Partisan Deference? Oxford Studies in Epistemology, Vol. 8. ed. Alex Worsnip, forthcoming.

On Subtweeting (w/ Eleonore Neufeld). Conversations Online, OUP, ed. Connolly, Goldberg, & Saul. Forthcoming.

Why Double-Check?, Episteme, 21 (2):644-667. 2024.

Epistemic Atonement. Oxford Studies in Metaethics, vol. 18, ed. Russ Shafer-Landau, 2023.

Epistemic Norms on Evidence-Gathering (w/ Carolina Flores). Philosophical Studies, 180 (9): 2547—71. 2023.

A Puzzle About Fickleness. Noûs, 56 (2): 323–342. 2022.

Bad Sex & Consent. Handbook of Sexual Ethics, Palgrave, ed. David Boonin. 2022.

The Ignorance Norm & Paradoxical Assertions. Philosophical Topics, 49 (2):321–332. 2021.

Reviews

Tom Dougherty, The Scope of Consent (2021). Ethics, 134 (3): 402–407, 2024.


Books

Political Epistemology: An Introduction. Routledge 2025, with Michael Hannon.
• A preview of the book can be found here. Pre-order here: Amazon UK or US.



In Progress

  • Paper on consent: Handout Draft

  • “How to Start Changing Your Mind” (Slides here)

  • “Consent, Trust, & Sexual Ethics”


Recent & Upcoming Talks

Jan 28. “Belief Change as Evidence.” University of Oxford M&E Group.
Feb 7. Discussion of Political Epistemology (w/ Michael Hannon), University of Sussex.
April 1. “Mistreating Consent,” Yale Law School.
April 4. TBD, Workshop on Deference & Trust at Scripps College.
May 12. “Consent, Trust, & Sexual Ethics.” UCL Laws.
May 14. TBD, Birkbeck, University of London.
May 26-28. TBD, University of Bergen, Reasonable Disagreement Workshop.
June 20. Discussion of Political Epistemology (w/ Michael Hannon), University of Oslo.
Sept 24. TBD, Surrey Centre for Law and Philosophy.

You can find handouts from recent talks here.