Overview

My primary research interests are political philosophy and normative ethics (including bioethics). These interests culminate, for the most part, in questions about justice. Justice is usually about what we owe to one another, and it's tied up with all sorts of fascinating considerations like moral desert, distribution, egalitarianism, fairness, luck, rights and many others. While I do tend to do some work in non-ideal political theory and bioethics (for example, on healthcare-resource rationing), most of my work is in ideal political philosophy (for example, on principles of justice and their justification).

My secondary interests are diverse, though they all pertain to value theory in one way or another. I am interested in Kant's practical philosophy (especially his political philosophy), public health ethics, environmental ethics, just war theory, and social epistemology. I think these topics similarly culminate in one central question at the heart of my research: what makes for a just society? I have a personal (i.e., non-research interest) in the philosophy of religion, but even this interest is fundamentally about the relationship between God and justice. As a theist, I am troubled by whether widespread inequalities are consistent with the existence of God.

Publications

Articles (Selected)
(1) "Vaccine Ethics: Mandatory Vaccine Programs and Individual Liberty." (with Michelle Huang) Duke Medical Ethics Journal 4 (2022): online print.
(2) "The Pen and the Sword: Comparing Kantian and Marxist on Social Progress." Polis 8 (2021): 28-33.
(3) "Special Obligations and Moral Psychology." Accepted in University of Chicago Philosophical Review.
(4) "Towards a Perfectionist Account of Human Rights." Accepted in Perspectives on Ethics.

Philosophy for a Public Audience
(1) "Change is Hard. Can We Make It Easier?" Substack (2024): online print.
(2) "Kant, Law, & War: In Conversation with Arthur Ripstein." Noēsis 23 (2022): 82-97.
(3) "The Ethics of the Batman: Should Batman Kill the Joker?" The Zeitgeist (2021): online print.

Papers Under Review/In Progress
Titles omitted to preserve blind review. Email me if you want any drafts as they become available.
- A paper on the just distribution of healthcare (revise and resubmit in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry).
- A paper on the harshness objection to luck egalitarianism (in progress).
- A paper on global order in Kant's political philosophy (in progress).

Presentations, Symposia, Talks

Peer Reviewed
(1) Healthcare Justice: Protecting Self-Respect, Not Opportunity, MANCEPT Workshops in Political Theory on Disability and Justice, University of Manchester, September 2024 *Accepted; unable to attend due to insufficient funding

Other
(8) What Kantians Owe to Non-Rational Actors (with Rémy Enoch and Lawrence Chyall), Foundation of Bioethics Facilitated Learning Group, Harvard Medical School, September 2024
* Invited presentation.
(7) θεωρία and εὐδαιμονία in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Socrates Project Seminar, University of Toronto, October 2022
(6) Towards a Perfectionist Account of Human Rights, Ethics, Healing, & Reconciliation, University of Toronto Centre for Ethics, July 2022
(5) The Fact of Reason in Kantian Metaethics, Undergraduate Philosophy Research Conference, University of Toronto, April 2022
(4) A Kantian Argument Against Watching Pornography, Trinity College Undergraduate Research Conference, Trinity College, March 2022
(3) Art and Reason: Art as a Philosophical Tool, Annual Falsafa Symposium, University of California Irvine, February 2022
*  Invited presentation.
(2) Locke on Natural Law and Natural Rights, Undergraduate Research Conference, University of Toronto, February 2022
(1) Special Obligations and Moral Psychology: A Case Against Utilitarianism, National Collegiate Research Conference, Harvard University, January 2022