Research
Most of my research to date has centered around the following questions:
What does it take to understand the world, and the people within it?
What do we really care about from a purely intellectual (or epistemic) point of view?
How should we think about epistemic normativity?
Finally, an easy one: What is wisdom?
An interview about my work appeared in 3AM Magazine, and a recent talk is here.
For a general overview of my research, please see my Google Scholar page.
Selected Papers
“Transmitting Understanding and Know-How.” In What the Ancients Offer to Contemporary Epistemology.” Eds. Stephen Hetherington and Nicholas Smith. New York: Routledge.
"Understanding as an Intellectual Virtue." In The Routledge Companion to Virtue Epistemology. Ed. Heather Battaly. New York: Routledge. Forthcoming.
“Why Study History? On Its Epistemic Benefits and Its Relation to the Sciences.” Philosophy 92: 399-420. (2017)
“Wisdom in Theology.” In The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology. Eds. William Abraham and Frederick Aquino. New York: Oxford University Press. (2017)
“How Understanding People Differs From Understanding the Natural World.” Philosophical Issues (Noûs supplement) 26: 209-225. (2016)
"Understanding and Transparency." In Explaining Understanding: New Essays in Epistemology and the Philosophy of Science. New York: Routledge. (2016)
“The Value of Reflection.” In Performance Epistemology. Ed. Miguel Angel Fernandez. New York: Oxford University Press. (2016)
“Knowledge, Practical Interests, and Rising Tides.” In Epistemic Evaluation: Purposeful Epistemology. Eds. John Greco and David Henderson. New York: Oxford University Press. (2015)
“Wisdom.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy 93: 139-154. (2015)
“The Logic of Mysticism.” European Journal for the Philosophy of Religion. (2015)
“Understanding as Knowledge of Causes.” In Virtue Epistemology Naturalized: Bridges Between Virtue Epistemology and Philosophy of Science (Synthese Library). Ed. Abrol Fairweather. New York: Springer. (2014)
“Getting it Right.” (with Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij) Philosophical Studies 166: 329-347 (2013).
“The Value of Understanding.” Philosophy Compass 7:2. (2012)
“On Intellectualism in Epistemology.” Mind 120:3. (2011)
"Understanding." In The Routledge Companion to Epistemology. Eds. Sven Bernecker and Duncan Pritchard. New York: Routledge. (2011)
"Epistemic Normativity." In Epistemic Value. Eds. Adrian Haddock, Alan Millar, and Duncan Pritchard. New York: Oxford University Press. (2009)
[Reprinted in Virtue Epistemology: MIT Readers in Contemporary Philosophy. Eds. John Greco and John Turri. Cambridge: MIT Press. (2012)]
"Epistemic Goals and Epistemic Values." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 77:3. (2008)
"Explanatory Enquiry and the Need for Explanation." British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 59:3. (2008)
"Review Essay: Kvanvig’s The Value of Knowledge and the Pursuit of Understanding." (with Michael DePaul) Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 74:2. (2007)
"Is Understanding a Species of Knowledge?" British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 57:3. (2006)
"Kant’s Argument for Radical Evil." The European Journal of Philosophy 10:2. (2002)
Review of The Nature and Value of Knowledge: Three Investigations, by Duncan Pritchard, Alan Millar, and Adrian Haddock (Oxford University Press). Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. (2011)