Graduate Students
Tim went to Texas A&M for his B.A. and M.A. (both in philosophy). He wrote his master’s thesis on Kant’s conception of freedom. His main Areas of Interest is early modern philosophy (especially Leibniz and Spinoza), but he is also interested in ancient Greek philosophy.
Martin Barrett
e-mail: mbrrtt@pobox.com
Jeff Behrends
Areas of Interest: metaethics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: jbehrends@wisc.edu
Office: 5166 H.C. White
Jeff is mainly interested in ethical theory, and his current research is primarily related to practical reasons, axiology, and normative and moral epistemology. His dissertation, "Reasons, Values, and Desires: On the Prospects for a Hybrid Theory of Practical Reasons," sets out the case for a novel theory about how reasons for action are grounded. His work has recently appeared in Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, the Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, and The Journal of Value Inquiry. See the link below for more about Jeff's work.
Jeff Behrends’sWeb site
Hayley Clatterbuck
Areas of Interest: Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Biology, Epistemology
Phone: 608-273-3700
e-mail: clatterbuck@wisc.edu
Office: 5112 Helen C. White
Hayley is a third-year student whose primary interests are in philosophy of science—particularly philosophy of biology and epistemology. She also has a strong interest in human evolution. When she is not working, Hayley enjoys cycling on the beautiful and virtually car-free dairy roads around Madison.
Hadley Cooney
Area of Interest: Early Modern Philosophy
Phone: 608-273-3700
e-mail: hcooney@wisc.edu
Office: 5184B Helen C. White
Hadley is a first-year graduate student primarily interested in early modern philosophy, especially Spinoza and Leibniz.
Daniel is interested in Metaethics (esp. Moral Epistemology) and Philosophy of Religion. In both of these philosophical areas, he is interested in the arguments that begin with an empirical premise regarding the origins of our (moral or religious) beliefs and end in an epistemological conclusion regarding the rationality of those beliefs. In his dissertation, then, he is defending the claim that many of our moral beliefs are justified a priori on the basis of “mental state intuitions,” and that appreciation of the evolutionary and cultural influences of these beliefs does not generate a defeater for this justification. If you are working on, or considering working on, a similar topic, please don’t hesitate to contact me at dcrow@wisc.edu.
Daniel Crow’sWeb site
Andrew Cuda
Areas of Interest: philosophy of science
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: accuda@wisc.edu
Office: 5168 Helen C. White
Andrew is primarily interested in the philosophy of science. He is currently working on problems concerning laws of nature.
Kevin Dewan
Areas of Interest: philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, moral psychology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: dewan@wisc.edu
Office: 5162 Helen C. White
Kevin works in moral psychology and philosophy of mind. These days he is working on the implications of social psychology for moral responsibility. He is also interested in the implications of cross-cultural variation of cognitive styles for psychology and philosophy, the situationist challenge to virtue ethics, and various issues in applied ethics. Apart from philosophy, he enjoys studying Urdu and Hindi and learning about the history and culture of South Asia.
Kevin Dewan'sWeb site
Lydia du Bois
Areas of Interest: philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, epistemology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: ldubois2@wisc.edu
Office: 5142 Helen C. White
Lydia completed her undergraduate studies in philosophy at the University of Cape Town and then moved to Vancouver, Canada, where she completed her M.A. in philosophy at Simon Fraser University. Her interests cover a broad range of areas, including philosophy of mind (perception and questions about concepts), philosophy of language (externalism), and epistemology (as it relates to the interests already mentioned). She also has a budding interest in the history and philosophy of psychiatry. In the history of philosophy, she particularly enjoys reading Berkeley's New Theory of Vision and she likes exploring 20th century analytic philosophy.
Stewart Eskew
Areas of Interest: Metaethics, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Education, Epistemology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: eskew@wisc.edu
Office: 5168 H.C. White
Stewart is primarily interested in issues in moral epistemology. Recently, his work has focused on various issues surrounding moral perception. However, he is also interested in the nature and epistemic status of moral intuition, the possibility of a priori moral knowledge, peer disagreement, and non-naturalist moral realism. He also has teaching and research interests in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of education, and applied ethics.
Stewart Eskew'sWeb site
He is currently working on a dissertation on how agents come to have justified verdictive moral judgments and justified beliefs in general moral principles.
Molly works on issues in ethical theory, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics. Her most recent conference papers address procreation ethics, misfortune, population ethics, and the logical paradoxes of time travel. She is author of the commentary, “Retribution, Deterrence, and Organ Donation," published in the American Journal of Bioethics. Her dissertation is about our moral duties to future generations.
Molly Gardner'sWeb site
If asked casually about his interests, Michael will claim that philosophy of biology and cognitive science are his primary interests (as well as philosophy of science more broadly construed). If one were to push him a bit further, he would admit that the primary focus of his research is in philosophy of ecology. More specifically, he is obsessed with philosophical issues surrounding ecological modeling, which is the subject of the dissertation that he is working on. His other interests include epistemology (both traditional and formal), philosophy of mind, and environmental ethics.
Michael Goldsby'sWeb site
Timothy Hansel
e-mail: thansel@wisc.edu
Casey works in philosophy (epistemology and metaphysics) of science, and philosophy of biology—sometimes venturing into formal epistemology, and maintaining some back-burner interests in philosophy of mind, psychology, and language.
Justin Horn
Areas of Interest: Metaethics, Normative Ethics, Political Philosophy
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: horn2@wisc.edu
Office: 5184B Helen C. White
Justin’s primary philosophical interests are in metaethics, especially questions about moral ontology and moral epistemology. He is currently writing a dissertation about the relevance (or not) of evolutionary theory to debates about the truth of moral realism. He also has interests in normative ethics, applied ethics, and political philosophy.
Justin Horn's Web site
Alex Hyun
Areas of Interest: metaethics, philosophy of religion, epistemology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: abhyun@wisc.edu
Office: 5164 Helen C. White
Alex’s main philosophical interests are in metaethics and philosophy of religion, and he’s especially interested in issues that lie at the intersection of these two fields.
Holly Kantin
Areas of Interest: metaphysics, epistemology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: hakantin@wisc.edu
Holly works mainly in metaphysics and epistemology and is especially concerned with issues of ontology. Her recent work is on the ontology of material objects and personal identity. Her interests in epistemology focus mainly on issues of justification and responsible belief. She is the co-author of a paper entitled, “Is Evidence Knowledge?” with Juan Comesaña, which is forthcoming in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. She also has interests in ethics and the philosophy of language.
Jason Leardi
Areas of Interest: Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Psychology and Neuroscience, Epistemology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: leardi@wisc.edu
Office: 5160 Helen C. White
Zi Lin (Lindsay)
Areas of Interest: Moral philosophy, Free will, Philosophy of Action, Political Philosophy, Kant
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: zlin29@wisc.edu
Office: 5112 Helen C. White
Brian McLoone
Areas of Interest: philosophy of biology, philosophy of psychology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: mcloone@wisc.edu
Office: 5142 Helen C. White
David's philosophical interests primarily lie in philosophy of law, ethics, and political philosophy. In his spare time, he is obtaining a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School. In his actual spare time, he enjoys gardening, baking sourdough bread, and trying obscure beers.
Justin did his BA in philosophy at Stephen F. Austin State University--named after the man who brought his ancestors to East Texas. He then went to Texas Tech University for his MA, where he realized he was interested in ethics, metaethics, moral psychology and philosophy of religion. He also realized that all of philosophy is worthwhile, and has side interests in metaphysics and epistemology. Outside of philosophy, he runs long distance, with a strong preference for trails, and tries to find time to hunt, camp, and read good literature.
Josh is interested in metaethics and epistemology, especially peer-disagreement. He’s also interested in philosophy of science and metaphysics.
Derrick Murphy
Areas of Interest: Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: dsmurphy3@wisc.edu
Office: 5164 Helen C. White
Derrick’s work is focused mainly in Metaphysics and Philosophy of Mind, especially where the two intersect. He is specifically interested in issues having to do with ontology, modality and causation as well as ontology of mind, the hard problem of consciousness and mental causation. Outside of philosophy, Derrick spends his time watching TV shows of the critically-acclaimed-underperforming-in-the-ratings variety and listening to music from decades before he was born.
Blake is interested in questions related to emotion, theory of mind, causal judgments, moral judgments, and language evolution.
Blake Myers-Schulz’sWeb site
Peter Nichols
Areas of Interest: Ethics, Metaphysics, Epistemology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: plnichols@wisc.edu
Pete works primarily in ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. His dissertation develops and defends a version of wide reflective equilibrium and applies it to the debate on personal identity and “what matters in survival.” His recent publications include "Wide Reflective Equilibrium As a Method of Justification in Bioethics," in Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics (forthcoming); “Abortion, Time-Relative interests, and Futures Like Ours,” in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (2012); and “Substance Concepts and Personal Identity,” in Philosophical Studies (2010).
Peter Nichols’sWeb site
David is a first-year student. His interests are primarily in moral and political philosophy, particularly in the relations among justice, community, and fraternity. He also has a developing interest in metaethics.
Emi Okayasu
Areas of Interest: Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Biology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: okayasu@wisc.edu
Office: 5142 Helen C. White
Emi is interested in philosophy of biology and philosophy of science. She is particularly interested in philosophical methodology and pedagogy, and how they relate to the study of science.
Jeffery Pretti
Areas of Interest: Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Epistemology
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: pretti@wisc.edu
Jeffery is primarily interested in the areas of philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and epistemology, specifically regarding the issues of representational content, meaning, and intention. His current work is focused on exploring a semantic solution to the problem of substitutivity in simple sentences. In addition, he enjoys thinking about and discussing issues of epistemic justification, higher-order theories of consciousness, personal identity, and embodied cognition. He has also taken up a random fascination with Spinoza’s ontology.
Jeffery Pretti’sWeb site
Michael Roche
Areas of Interest: philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, logic
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: mroche@wisc.edu
Office: 5166 Helen C. White
Michael's primary philosophical interests are in the philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive science. He has most recently been working on papers on introspection/self-knowledge. Other interests include the philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, logic, and epistemology. He is currently writing a dissertation on self-knowledge.
Michael Roche's Web site
Eric Sampson
Areas of Interest: metaethics, metaphysics, philosophy of religion
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: etsampson@wisc.edu
Office: 5172 Helen C. White
Eric is from Nashville, TN. He picked up a B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Tennessee and an M.A. in Philosophy at Texas Tech. He's mainly interested in metaethics (esp. moral ontology), metaphysics (esp. time and causation), and analytic philosophy of religion (esp. all of it). Outside of philosophy Eric plays a little basketball and watches a little football.
Daniel Schneider
Areas of Interest: philosophy of science, ancient philosophy
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: dcschneider@wisc.edu
Office: 5154 Helen C. White
Daniel is interested in Early Modern Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy and Philosophy of Science. He is particularly interested in the works of Spinoza and the development of a viable rationalist epistemology. He is currently working on a dissertation that examines the foundations of Spinoza’s metaphysics and reexamines the traditional Rationalist/Empiricist dispute.
Gina is interested in ethics and social and political philosophy. She has written on such issues as educational justice, political liberalism and political legitimacy, moral luck, and gender in the family. She is currently working on her dissertation, "A Family Affair: Political Liberalism and the Gendered Division of Labor," in which she investigates the political legitimacy of interventions intended to encourage more gender egalitarian family forms. Her paper “Educational Justice: Closing Gaps or Paying Debts?" was recently published in the Journal of Applied Philosophy, and her paper “Fair Educational Opportunity and the Distribution of Natural Ability: Toward a Prioritarian Principle of Educational Justice" is forthcoming in the Journal of Philosophy of Education.
Gina Schouten’s Web site
Ben’s primary philosophical interests are in philosophy of mind and jurisprudence. In 2007, he graduated from the College of Wooster with a BA in philosophy and history. He spent the next four years working in Washington, D.C. for a member of the House of Representatives. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, kayaking and jazz.
Eric Senseman
Areas of Interest: epistemology, philosophy of science, ethics
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: esenseman@wisc.edu
Office: 5191 Helen C. White
Elena Spitzer
Areas of Interest: philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, artificial intelligence
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: emspitzer@wisc.edu
Office: 5160 Helen C. White
Elena is interested in philosophy of science and philosophy of biology. She graduated from UC-Berkeley In 2007 with a double major in philosophy and molecular biology, and worked for Google for three years before joining the philosophy department. She is particularly interested in philosophical issues in genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics.
Jared has interests in philosophy of science, metaphysics, and epistemology.
Reuben Stern
Areas of Interest: philosophy of science, philosophy of language, metaphysics
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: stern4@wisc.edu
Office: 5191 Helen C. White
Dennis' main philosophical interests are in philosophy of mind, psychology, and cognitive science. He is especially interested in psychiatry, the nature of mental illness and health, and the role of emotions in our mental lives. Though he finds these interests engaging, this does not prevent his desiring more time to spend on ancient and early modern philosophy.
Olav is primarily interested in issues in the general philosophy of science.
Naftali Weinberger
Areas of Interest: Philosophy of Science
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: sweinberger@wisc.edu
Office: 5146 Helen C. White
Naftali is a third-year graduate student currently spending his time thinking about various issues in the philosophy of science, particularly those related to causation. When not doing philosophy, he can usually be found either cycling around town or enjoying Madison’s excellent beer offerings. His recent article in Philosophy of Science deals with the issue of when we can say that two models in genetics are predictively equivalent.
Danielle Wylie
Areas of Interest: Philosophy of Psychology, Philosophy of Mind, Ethics (especially metaethics)
Phone: 608-263-3700
e-mail: djwylie@wisc.edu
Office: 5172 Helen C. White
Danielle primarily focuses on the cognitive processes and structures underlying moral judgments and moral concepts. She is also interested in intuitions and moral responsibility.
Danielle Wylie’s Web site