I am a tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Director of the Bertrand Russell Research Centre, and Associate Professor of Philosophy Department at McMaster University. I came to McMaster from Cal State Long Beach. I've been a Fulbright Scholar (at the University of Sheffield in 2016 -2017) and a Mellon Fellow (at Cornell in 2008-2009), and before that I held a postdoc at the University of Toronto. My PhD comes from the Philosophy Department at Indiana University, Bloomington, though I also spent lots of time in Indiana's History and Philosophy of Science Department.
My research focuses on the history of the philosophy of science. I am particularly …
I am a tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Director of the Bertrand Russell Research Centre, and Associate Professor of Philosophy Department at McMaster University. I came to McMaster from Cal State Long Beach. I've been a Fulbright Scholar (at the University of Sheffield in 2016 -2017) and a Mellon Fellow (at Cornell in 2008-2009), and before that I held a postdoc at the University of Toronto. My PhD comes from the Philosophy Department at Indiana University, Bloomington, though I also spent lots of time in Indiana's History and Philosophy of Science Department.
My research focuses on the history of the philosophy of science. I am particularly interested in the rise of empirical psychology in the late 19th century, especially in the work of William James. I am also developing new work on Russell's philosophy of mind, particularly in connection with empirical work of his day. I am also working on several projects concerning the relationship between classic American philosophy and early analytic philosophy (including Russell and some figures associated with logical positivism as well). Finally, I am also using data mining tools to look at the history of philosophy from a new angle.
My areas of research and teaching specialization include the history and philosophy of science (particularly psychology), classic American philosophy, and early Analytic Philosophy. My areas of research and teaching competence include philosophy of perception, British Empiricism, Early Modern Philosophy, British and American Idealism, and philosophy of biology.