Research Overview

I work at the intersection of epistemology, political philosophy, and ethics, pursuing two main lines of inquiry. First, I investigate how the demands of practical life influence theoretical issues in epistemology. Second, I apply the conceptual tools of epistemology to urgent social and political issues.

Pragmatic Epistemology. Pragmatism, in my view, is one of the most significant yet often misunderstood developments in the history of philosophy. I approach philosophical problems through a pragmatist lens, emphasizing how our concepts, norms, and institutions earn their significance through the roles they play in human life. In my first book, What's the Point of Knowledge?, I argue that humans think and speak of "knowing" to identify reliable informants, which is vital for human cooperation, survival, and flourishing. In my next book (in progress), Inventing Rationality: The Social Origins of Epistemic Norms, I argue that epistemic norms arise from our practice of holding one another accountable as thinkers and speakers.

Political Epistemology. I also use the theoretical tools of epistemology to better understand social and political issues. I've written about the value of political empathy, the epistemology of democracy, public ignorance and bias, post-truth, and related topics. These themes are explored in Political Epistemology: An Introduction (w/ Elise Woodard), where we argue that the epistemic health of democracy depends less on individual virtue than on the institutional and structural conditions that shape how citizens reason, deliberate, and distribute trust.

• Are Smarter Voters Better Voters? — The Philosophers' Magazine, May 2022.
• Why No Vote Is Deplorable — The New Statesman, September 2020.
• Are Political Disagreements Real Disagreements? — Quillette, August 2019.
• Empathetic Understanding in Politics — Open for Debate, February 2019.