•  240
    I argue that the simple foreknowledge view, according to which God knows at some time t 1 what an agent S will do at t 2 , is incompatible with human free will. I criticize two arguments in favor of the thesis that the simple foreknowledge view is consistent with human freedom, and conclude that, even if divine foreknowledge does not causally compel human action, foreknowledge is nevertheless relevantly similar to other cases in which human freedom is undermined. These cases include those in whi…Read more
  •  75
    Linking Sexism and Speciesism
    Hypatia 29 (4): 721-737. 2014.
    Some feminists and animal advocates defend what I call the Linked Oppressions Thesis, according to which the oppression of women and the oppression of animals are linked causally, materially, normatively, and/or conceptually. Alasdair Cochrane offers objections to several versions of the Linked Oppressions Thesis and concludes that the Thesis should be rejected in all its forms. In this paper I defend the Thesis against Cochrane's objections as well as objections leveled by Beth Dixon, and argue…Read more
  •  68
    Analysing animality: A critical approach
    Philosophical Quarterly 65 (260): 529-546. 2015.
    Most people seem to believe that it is wrong to cause needless suffering and death to non-human animals, and yet most people also contribute to the needless suffering and death of a great many animals. If speciesism is understood as a psychological prejudice—the tendency of an individual human agent to disregard the interests of animals—then this fact is extremely difficult to explain. I argue that once speciesism is understood structurally—as a matter of injustice rather than a matter of interp…Read more
  •  61
    The Inseparability Thesis
    Southwest Philosophy Review 26 (1): 51-59. 2010.
    Several noted political theorists have argued that a state can be legitimate even if it does not generate in its citizens an obligation to obey the law. I argue that this claim is false. All plausible analyses of political legitimacy either build in the concept of political obligation, or else incorporate claims that require some account of political obligation. In either case, political legitimacy is possible only when a state successfully generates in its citizens an obligation to obey the law…Read more
  •  55
    Is the Concept of Violence Normative?
    Revue Internationale de Philosophie 67 (3): 337-352. 2013.
    Legitimist definitions of 'violence' are those that make explicit reference to the illegality, illegitimacy, or wrongfulness of the acts classified as acts of violence. All acts of violence, according to the legitimist definitions, involve a violation of some kind. I defend the view that legitimist definitions are defective—that notions like “wrongness” and “violation” are not part of the concept of violence. I offer three lines of argument: (1) that legitimist definitions of “violence” reduce t…Read more
  •  46
    Toward Justice for Animals
    Journal of Social Philosophy 45 (4): 539-553. 2014.
  •  44
    Rousseau's General Will and the Condorcet Jury Theorem
    History of Political Thought 32 (1): 49-62. 2011.
    In The Social Contract, Rousseau asserts his infallibility thesis: that the general will can never err, and that one's position in the minority indicates that what one took the general will to be was not actually so. Several theorists have argued that the Condorcet Jury Theorem, which states that in a sufficiently large group the majority opinion on a yes/no question is highly likely to be correct, provides a way to interpret and justify Rousseau's bold claim. I argue that the Jury Theorem canno…Read more
  •  42
    Reasons, Motivations, and Obligations
    Southern Journal of Philosophy 46 (3): 451-468. 2008.
    I argue against Reasons Internalism, the view that possession of a normative reason for the performance of an action entails that one can be motivated to perform that action, and Motivational Existence Internalism, the view that if one is obligated to perform an action, then one can be motivated to perform that action. My thesis is that these positions cannot accommodate the fact that reasonable moral agents are frequently motivated to act only because they believe theircontemplated actions to b…Read more
  •  25
    Hierarchy, Global Justice, and Human-Animal Relations
    Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy 19 (3): 236-255. 2016.
  •  2
    Is the Concept of Violence Normative?
    Revue Internationale de Philosophie 235 (1): 337-352. 2006.
    Legitimist definitions of 'violence' are those that make explicit reference to the illegality, illegitimacy, or wrongfulness of the acts classified as acts of violence. All acts of violence, according to the legitimist definitions, involve a violation of some kind. I defend the view that legitimist definitions are defective—that notions like “wrongness” and “violation” are not part of the concept of violence. I offer three lines of argument: (1) that legitimist definitions of “violence” reduce t…Read more