Teacher. Thinker. Researcher.
How do habit, empathy, and the categories we sort the world into shape our ability to act morally?
I'm a lecturer in philosophy at Clemson University, where I've taught since 2021. I hold a dual PhD in Philosophy and Cognitive Science from the University of Colorado Boulder, and my research sits in ethics with a focus on moral psychology: the psychological and social factors that help or hinder us in behaving well.
I came to philosophy after a decade as a software product manager and business analyst, and I bring that practical bent to the classroom. I've been teaching philosophy since 2013, first as a teaching assistant and, since 2017, as the designer and instructor of my own courses.
Areas of specialization
Ethics, moral psychology
Areas of competence
Philosophy of religion, political philosophy, philosophy of mind, philosophy of race, philosophy of gender, philosophy and psychology, environmental ethics
Teaching
My courses start with argument: early weeks focus on how to read a philosophical text, build a valid argument, and spot a fallacy. Students then put those tools to work on hard questions about knowledge, identity, and how we ought to live. I received the University of Colorado Boulder Teaching Excellence Award in 2019 and a Certificate in College Teaching in 2021, and I served as a Teagle Fellow at Clemson from 2023 to 2025.
Courses taught
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Introduction to Philosophy
A tour of philosophy's central questions, from the existence of God and the limits of knowledge to what makes an action right or wrong.
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Introduction to Logic
The foundations of critical thinking and formal logic: valid argument, common fallacies, and the basic tools of symbolic reasoning.
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Introduction to Ethics
The major ethical theories, tested against difficult moral and social problems such as bias, racism, abortion, same-sex marriage, and immigration.
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Environmental Ethics
What we owe to the natural world, to other species, and to future generations, and how those obligations bear on present-day environmental choices.
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Philosophy of Gender and Sexuality
How gender should be defined, whether it is real or constructed, and how gender norms shape roles, expectations, and our sense of self.
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Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science
What minds are and how they relate to brains and bodies, drawing on both philosophical argument and research in cognitive science.
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Philosophy and Race
How race is and should be defined, racial construction, the intersection of race and culture, and race's effect on identity, social status, and policy.
Earlier courses at the University of Colorado Boulder include Philosophy and Psychology, Critical Thinking, Contemporary Social Problems, and Reading, Writing, and Reasoning.
Research
My work asks why good intentions so often fail to become good actions. Much of what we do happens before we deliberate, so I look at the habits, attitudes, and cognitive shortcuts that shape moral life, and at what it would take to train them well.
Habit and moral practice
Habit as a moral skill, the environments that build it, and how culture makes some moral habits feel obvious.
The limits of empathy
Why empathy has to be learned, and what to do when another person's experience can't be shared.
Categorization and othering
The tension between the mind's need to categorize and the moral need for full inclusion in our institutions.
Language and justice
How teaching Standard American English as the only correct form creates a double bind for speakers of other dialects.
In Praise of Habit
My dissertation argues that habit plays a far larger role in moral decision-making than traditional ethics assumes. Recent psychology suggests we are often unaware of the reasons for our own choices, so the habits we bring to a moment may matter as much as the reasoning we do in it. Four chapters are being developed for publication.
Works in progress
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“Enlightening Empathy: Realizing and Moving Past the Limitations”
SubmittedEmpathy is a normal human capacity, but it depends on experience. Since some experiences can't be shared, we need to understand where empathy runs out.
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“The Double Bind of Standard American English”
In progressSchools treat Standard English as the correct norm, which places an unjust double bind on students who speak other forms of English in their communities.
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“The Necessity and Injustice of Othering”
In progressCategorizing is essential to thought. The moral task is not to stop drawing distinctions but to stop equating “other” with “bad.”
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Dissertation chapters planned for publication
- “Habits of Morality”
- “The Habits We Need”
- “The Habits We Practice”
- “Habitual Attitudes”
Curriculum vitae
Summary of my full CV
Education
- 2021PhD, Philosophy and Cognitive Science (dual degree)University of Colorado Boulder. Dissertation: “In Praise of Habit.” Committee: Iskra Fileva (chair), Robert Rupert, Leanne Hirshfield, Tamara Sumner, Ajume Wingo
- 2018MA, PhilosophyUniversity of Colorado Boulder
- 2010BA, Philosophy, magna cum laudeUniversity of Illinois
- 2002AA, MathematicsGeorgia Perimeter College
Teaching appointments
- 2021–presentLecturerClemson University
- Spring 2021LecturerUniversity of Colorado Boulder
- 2017–2020Graduate Part-Time Instructor, instructor of recordUniversity of Colorado Boulder
- 2013–2016Teaching AssistantUniversity of Colorado Boulder
Honors and awards
- 2019Teaching Excellence AwardUniversity of Colorado Boulder Graduate School; fewer than ten recipients chosen from all graduate instructors on campus
- 2015Research Assistantship, Summer Philosophy SeminarUniversity of Colorado Boulder
- 2015Research AssistantshipUniversity of Colorado Boulder; research in well-being, desire and motivation, responsibility, and identity
Conference participation
- 2025Book symposium on Jennifer Saul's Dogwhistles and FigleavesAmerican Philosophical Association, Pacific Division
- 2018Commentator on Matthias Barker, “Practical Perception: New and Improved(!)”Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress
- 2017Commentator on Amanda Askell and Tyler John, “Moral Offsetting”Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress
Professional development
- 2023–2025Teagle FellowClemson University, Department of Philosophy and Religion
- 2021Certificate in College TeachingUniversity of Colorado Boulder, Graduate Teacher Program
- 2014Seminar: Exploring Diversity and Inclusion in College ClassroomsUniversity of Colorado Boulder, Graduate Teacher Program
Service
- 2022–2024Chair's Advisory CommitteeClemson University, Department of Philosophy and Religion
- 2019Faculty search committee, graduate participantUniversity of Colorado Boulder, Institute of Cognitive Science
- 2018–2021Awards CommitteeUniversity of Colorado Boulder, Institute of Cognitive Science
- 2016Conference co-organizerRocky Mountain Philosophy Conference
- 2015–2016Committee for Climate, graduate memberUniversity of Colorado Boulder, Department of Philosophy
- 2012–2014Outreach teaching volunteer for high-school studentsPhilosophy Outreach Program of Colorado
Prior professional experience
- 2003–2013Software Product Manager and Business AnalystISGN. Led writers, developers, and QA specialists in the U.S. and India across three mortgage software products