I’m an ethicist and cognitive scientist (officially, Associate Professor of Philosophy) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After finishing my PhD in 2011 at beautiful UC Santa Barbara, I was fortunate to have taught for two years in the Philosophy Department at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. From 2020-2022, I’m on an Academic Cross-Training Fellowship, which relieves me from teaching while I study neuroscience. When not reading, writing, or teaching, I like to hike, climb, cook, travel, play guitar, and spend time with my daughter.

Most of my research lies at the intersection of ethics and science (e.g. neuroethics) and aims to better understand the development, breakdown, and improvement of moral knowledge and virtue. My book Regard for Reason in the Moral Mind (Oxford University Press, 2018) draws on scientific evidence to show that reasoning plays a fundamental role in ethical thought and action. Articles of mine have appeared in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Behavioral & Brain Sciences, Cognition, Journal of Medical Ethics, Neuroethics, Philosophical Studies, and Synthese. Read more…

I teach a range of philosophy courses, but my regulars are Intro to Philosophy, Bioethics, Ethics: Theories of Good and Evil, and Neuroethics. I occasionally teach seminars, which usually cover current debates in these areas. In 2017, I was honored to receive the “Outstanding Professor Award” from the students in UAB’s Early Medical School Acceptance Program. Read more…

Other professional activities include serving as the coach of UAB’s ethics debate team, assisting the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and editing several categories for PhilPapers.org. In 2017, I participated in a summer seminar on Neuroscience and Philosophy at Duke University, similar to summer seminars I’ve previously attended (on Moral Epistemology at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary; on Big Questions in Free Will at Florida State University; and on Perceptual, Moral, and Religious Skepticism at Purdue University). Read more…

Philosophy isn’t just for the few in the “ivory tower.” So I try to help bring philosophy to the general public through interviews,  opinion pieces, and blog posts. Read more…