My research focuses on the histories of analytic philosophy and of pragmatism, with a special emphasis on naturalistic philosophy of mind in that historical context (i.e., late 19th and early 20th century). William James has been a central focus, but I have been working lately on Russell in his naturalistic phase as well. I also have material either published or forthcoming on figures like Moore, T. H. Green, Quine, Mach, and Peirce. Relatedly, I have broader interests in the history and philosophy of empirical psychology, particularly in figures who informed so-called scientific philosophy, like Helmholtz, Hering, T. H. Huxley, G. H. Lewes, and Francis Galton.
I am currently Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Bertrand Russell Research Centre at McMaster University. Recently, I completed a Fulbright year at the University of Sheffield (2016 - 2017), working on a book on William James. I came to McMaster from the philosophy Department at Cal State Long Beach. In 2008-2009 I was a Mellon Fellow in Philosophy at Cornell, and before that I held a postdoc at the University of Toronto. My PhD comes from the Philosophy Department at Indiana University, Bloomington, and I also have an MA from Indiana's History and Philosophy of Science Department.
Click here for a letter to prospective graduate students.
I am currently Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Bertrand Russell Research Centre at McMaster University. Recently, I completed a Fulbright year at the University of Sheffield (2016 - 2017), working on a book on William James. I came to McMaster from the philosophy Department at Cal State Long Beach. In 2008-2009 I was a Mellon Fellow in Philosophy at Cornell, and before that I held a postdoc at the University of Toronto. My PhD comes from the Philosophy Department at Indiana University, Bloomington, and I also have an MA from Indiana's History and Philosophy of Science Department.
Click here for a letter to prospective graduate students.
My CV (Oct 2019) is here.
Area of Research Specialization
Early Analytic Philosophy
American Pragmatism (esp James)
History and Philosophy of Science (esp Psychology)
Other Areas of Teaching Competence
British Empiricism (17th – 19th C.)
Early Modern Philosophy
Theories of Perception
General Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Biology
Philosophy of Art
Here is a complete set of teaching evaluations from a recent introduction to philosophy class I taught (Phil 100).
And here is a complete set of teaching evaluations from a recent graduate seminar in the history of analytic philosophy (Phil 681).
Area of Research Specialization
Early Analytic Philosophy
American Pragmatism (esp James)
History and Philosophy of Science (esp Psychology)
Other Areas of Teaching Competence
British Empiricism (17th – 19th C.)
Early Modern Philosophy
Theories of Perception
General Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Biology
Philosophy of Art
Here is a complete set of teaching evaluations from a recent introduction to philosophy class I taught (Phil 100).
And here is a complete set of teaching evaluations from a recent graduate seminar in the history of analytic philosophy (Phil 681).
Photograph: Natasha Calzatti
The background picture is a diagram of one of G. H. Lewes's physiological frog experiments, from Problems of Life and Mind, Second Series: The Physical Basis of Mind (London: Trübner & Co., 1877) p. 178.
Click to set custom HTML
