Current Graduate Students

Sarah Aikin Email
Office: HSS 7055
Office Hours: Monday 12:30-1:30pm, Friday 9:30-10:30am

I came to UCSD in fall 2007 having received B.A.'s in Philosophy and Psychology from California State University, Chico in 2005. Last year I began and completed an Interdisciplinary M.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from CSU, Chico before beginning my work here in San Diego. I am most interested (most of the time) in Ethics, Metaethics, and Moral Psychology but I have a fondness for too many other things in the field to mention them all. I dabble in music (guitar, piano, and singing), art (drawing), and poetry. I also love children's' books because they can keep adults sane.

Andrew Beck Email
Logic was my entry into philosophy, and a fascination with logicism (and Carnap's Aufbau) propelled me into graduate school. My dissertation proposses and defends a very general theory of formality - of what it takes for something to be formal. Logic, language, mathematics, computation, programming languages, and metaphysics all are of some interest to me, as formality participates in all of these. I will most likely go to market in philosophical logic and philosophy of computer science. What underlies most of my research is an attempt to partially vindicate some of the guiding intuitions of logical positivism (in particular, some of Carnap's early intuitions about semantics). In my dissertation, I make it clear that logic and formality are not coextensive, and so should not be conflated (as is regularly done). I have related interests in the history of Ancient philosophy and mathematics, as well as 20th Century history and philosophy of science. I am also very interested in computational linguistics and have some innovative (or crazy) ideas about natural language processing. I am also eager to engage with Eastern philosophy, especially as it touches upon formality. I received a B.A. in philosophy from Arizona State University (2004) and an M.A. in philosophy from UC San Diego (2008). I have held a graduate fellowship at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (operated by Battelle Memorial Institute), and am concurrently employed as a software system architect.

Sindhuja Bhakthavatsalam Email
Both my undergraduate and Masters training has been in Science. I have a Masters degree in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, India. After all these years of trying to figure out Science, I guess I'm now here to figure what it "really" is. My interests include Philosophy of Science primarily; and also Philosophy of Physics- particularly foundations of Quantum Mechanics. I'm also interested in Philosophy of Mathematics, Musicology and South Indian Classical Music among other things.

Nina Brewer-Davis Email Web
I received a B.A. in Philosophy from McGill University, and an M.Sc. by Research in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh. In my thesis, I argue that political obligation is a type of associative obligation based on relationships that grow not out of entering into a social contract, but out of participation in conversations about the political society's policies and principles.

Amanda Brovold Email
I have B.A.s in Philosophy and English and a certificate in Linguistics from Florida International University, in Miami, Florida. I also spent a number of years studying Education and volunteering in public schools. Prior to coming to UCSD in fall of 2005 I worked as a waitress, used book dealer, tutor, and co-directed KAPOW summer camp. I am interested in philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, cognitive science, and especially how insights from those areas can inform and improve our education theory and policy.

Matthew J. Brown Email Web
My current research looks at contemporary topics in philosophy of science (evidence, social dimensions, science policy, pluralism) from the perspective of science as an embodied, socially and technologically embedded, problem-solving practice, drawing primarily on the work of John Dewey. I have several other research and teaching interests, especially in philosophy of mind / cognitive science, political philosophy, and the history of philosophy in the 19th and 20th centuries. My non-philosophy time is devoted to departmental tech support, creative writing, comics, circuit bending, and coffee consumption.

Nanhee Byrnes Email
Office: HSS 8088
Office Hours: Tuesday 9:40-10:40, Thursday 9:40-10:40 and Friday 9:40-11:00

I am interested in political philosophy. Previously, I was a graduate student at the ABD stage at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, specializing in philosophy of science. Then, the foundations of statistics and Bayesian methodology obsessed me, and I am still interested in these areas. I received a BA and an MA in philosophy from Korea University, Seoul, Korea. I also had an academic stint at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, where I met my husband. Having been away from academia for a decade to raise my two children, I have come to appreciate the relevance that philosophy can have in our day-to-day lives. I hope to use this insight as guidance in my own philosophical research.

Eric Campbell Email
Deep down, I have always been a philosopher. So I thought I might as well be a good one and get paid for it. I got my bachelor's at UT Austin, with minors in psychology and life sciences. I was pre-med at one point and like biology a lot, especially evolution and neuroscience. I'm interested in philosophical interpretations of scientific discoveries, how we can and should think about our values in the context of a materialist scientific worldview, especially in the light of evolution and the continual advances in psychology and neuroscience. I'm obsessed with all things ethical, both at the normative and meta-normative levels. In general, I think we are very, very confused about what's going on when we think and talk about morality, and that is to a large extent by design. I'm writing my dissertation on the relationship(s) between morality, rationality and the will. I think that peculiarly moral categories and concepts have quite a lot in common with those of (especially Western) religions, and share many of the same strengths and weaknesses. I think that insofar as we maintain our 'will to truth', neither can be sustained. We will have to give them up, and we should do so on our own terms rather than having them wrenched from us, and fighting desperate rearguard actions in a futile and counterproductive attempt to save them. I focus on morality, not religion. Fortunately, there is a lot to be gained in doing so. I think we have a lot of potential for understanding ourselves and our motivations much, much better than we do now, and for making the world a place we would prefer to the way it is now. Going beyond morality can help with this. As might be surmised, I also like Nietzsche a lot. My work has been significantly affected by his.

Damon Crockett Email
I received my BA in philosophy in 2006 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I am interested in a range of (mostly non-ethics) topics including mind, cognitive science, language, and philosophy of science generally. I'd say that my interest in these specific topics is an outgrowth of my more general interest in epistemology.

James Dabgotra Email

Vidit Desai Email
Office: HSS 8029

I received a BA in Philosophy from UCLA in 2005. After traveling, I enrolled at UCSD in the fall of 2007.

Erin Frykholm

Joyce Havstad Email
I have a BA in Philosophy of Life Science from UCSD and an MA in Philosophy from SDSU. My philosophical interests are in the philosophy of biology, science, & technology, the history of science, environmental ethics, biomedical ethics, feminism, and aesthetics. I have worked at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla since 2001. Currently I am the editorial assistant for the journal Philosophical Psychology.

Mitchell Herschbach Email Web
Office: HSS 8037

I received a B.A. in Philosophy and B.S. in Psychology from Santa Clara University in 2002. I specialize in philosophy of mind and philosophy of cognitive science. My dissertation concerns the nature of human social understanding, particularly folk psychology, i.e., our ability to appreciate other people's mental states. I defend a pervasive role for folk psychology against criticisms by phenomenologists such as Shaun Gallagher, Matthew Ratcliffe, and Dan Zahavi.

Kristen Irwin Email Web
After earning my B.A. in history and philosophy from Hillsdale College in May 2001, I began the Ph.D. program at UCSD that fall. My research interests are historical in nature, and include many different topics in epistemology and metaphysics from the modern period through the 20th century. I specialize in the seventeenth century, and I also have lesser interests in philosophy of religion, existentialism, and phenomenology. My dissertation (advisor: Donald Rutherford) provides an original interpretation of the relationship between reason and religious belief in the thought of Pierre Bayle, a seventeenth century Huguenot skeptic. In addition to a stint as a teaching assistant and researcher at the UC Study Center in Paris, I have also been a TA in Revelle College's Humanities writing program, and an instructor for PHIL 33 (Philosophy in the Age of Enlightenment), PHIL 181 (Existentialism), PHIL 185 (Philosophy of Religion), and PHIL 104 (The Rationalists).

Nat Jacobs
I received a B.A. in philosophy from UC Berkeley at some point in the previous millennium. Since coming to UCSD in 2006, I'm focusing on philosophy of physics and time. I've recently been studying the demarcation of presentism from eternalism. I have interests in logic, philosophy of science, and ancient philosophy. I also have woefully undeveloped interests in causation and skepticism. I suffer from a formalization fetish, but I'm in therapy for that. I relax with Latin translation, puzzle-solving, and noise music.

Tim Jankowiak Email
I received my B.A. in philosophy in 2005 from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and I moved to San Diego to pursue a PhD in Fall 2005. My interests are for the most part in 17th and 18th century philosophy, especially Kant. I am currently preparing to begin writing a dissertation on Kant's theories of mindedness and empirical representation under the supervision of Eric Watkins.

Charlie Kurth Email Web
I grew up in the Washington, DC area. I went to college at the University of Viginia where I majored in economics and political science. Before returning to school to study philosophy, I spent three years working in finance in New York City. My primary philosophical interests lie in ethical theory and metaphysics. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy cycling, rock climbing, camping, fly fishing, cooking, and eating baked goods.

Cole Macke Email
I grew up in Olympia, Washington, and after 5 years at the University of Washington in Seattle graduated with a BA in Philosophy. I also got BSs in Physics and Astronomy, as well as minors in Math and Chemistry from my pre-med days. I have really broad philosophical interests including philosophy of science and physics, history of philosophy, ethics, and most other areas as well. Hopefully I’ll be able to refine that a little further in the near future. As for non-philosophical interests, I enjoy playing and watching sports (especially football and rugby), hiking, quoting The Simpsons, trying to make time for non-philosophy reading, and growing ridiculous facial hair (see left for evidence), among other things.

Eric C. Martin Email
I came to UCSD with a biology degree from The Colorado College. Now I work on philosophy of biology and the philosophy and history of science. My dissertation examines scientific research on life's origins, which poses challenges to a host of important topics in theoretical biology. I have also done historical research on J.B.S. Haldane, a genitor of the "modern" theory of life's origin and an architect of the neo-Darwinian evolutionary synthesis. My work on Haldane included archival research at the National Library of Scotland.
I have additional interests in biomedical ethics, early modern philosophy, debates on science and religion, Darwin, and science during the Cold War. Reporting on science policy in Congress sparked a continuing interest in science policy and the intersection of politics and the philosophy of science.
I love teaching, and I have taught courses in the Philosophy Department (Environmental Philosophy) and Environmental Studies Program (Wilderness and Human Values). When I'm not working I love being outdoors, running, rock climbing, cycling, or camping.

James Messina Email
Office: HSS 8059
Office Hours: Monday and Tuesday 10:00-11:00 and by appointment

I am interested in Kant, the history of early modern philosophy (especially Locke and Leibniz), and German Idealism. I’m currently teaching an upper-division course on epistemology (Phil 132) and finishing up my dissertation, “Kant’s Hidden Ontology of Space: The Metaphysical Presuppositions of Kant’s Ideality Thesis” (Chair: Eric Watkins). In my spare time, I like to read fiction, play the bass guitar, and hang out in the ocean (usually not all at once).

Tarun Menon Email
I have a bachelor's degree in Physics from Amherst College. My primary research interests are in the philosophy of physics and metaphysics, particularly time, probability, and the foundations of statistical mechanics. I am also interested in formal epistemology, the cognitive structure of science, Bollywood music and cookie dough ice cream.

Per Milam Email Web
B.A. Philosophy, Pomona College (2005)

My main philosophical interests are in moral psychology, philosophy of mind, and issues of animal welfare. I'm particularly interested in free will and determinism, agency, action, and moral responsibility. My recent research has focused on fatalism and on arguments for radical action (violent and non-violent) on behalf of animals and the environment. I also make room in my life for Bad Movie Night, cream soda, and, god willing, learning to break dance.

Ioan Muntean Email Web
I have a B.S. degree in Applied Physics from Bucharest Polytechnic Institute and B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy from the University of Bucharest, Romania. Prior to coming to UCSD in 2002 I had been assistant and associate professor at the University of Bucharest, Department of Philosophy. My primary research interests are in philosophy of science, especially philosophy of physics. I have research projects in cognitive science, metaphysics, philosophy of technology and of Artificial Intelligence. I love classical music and swimming, bike riding, skiing and hiking.

Lisa Paschall Email
After completing my BS in Chemistry at Haverford College in Philadelphia, I spent three years teaching high school chemistry in Manhattan. I'm now back in school pursuing a more complete understanding of the nature of science. Outside of science and philosophy my interests include yoga, cooking, and Philadelphia sports teams.

Veronica Pear Email
Office: HSS 7059
Office Hours: Monday 11-12, 2:30-3:30

I received by B.A. in Philosophy from Eastern Michigan University in 2007. I then took a year off before starting my doctoral work at UCSD. My philosophical interests, broadly construed, include (but are not limited to) ethics, social and political philosophy, and the philosophy of law; specifically, I am interested in how these areas are informed by feminism. Outside of academia, I enjoy literature and independent art as it is manifested in music, film, and comics.

Theron Pummer Email Website
Office: HSS 7093
Office Hours: Friday, 8:50am-10:50am
B.S. Philosophy and Cognitive Neuroscience, George Washington University (2006)

Areas of interest include ethical theory and philosophy of mind. Some recent research topics include: population ethics, aggregative consequentialism, and distributive principles; the structure of the good and time; personal identity and intrapersonal compensation; impartial practical reason and the demandingness of impartiality. Richard Arneson, David Brink, and Dana Nelkin are on my third-year committee. I am an instructor for the Muir College Writing Program.

Nate Rockwood Email
Office: HSS 8089
My primary interest is in Early Modern metaphysics and epistemology. I wrote my Master's thesis on Locke's theory of personal identity, for example. Other interests are in Ancient Greek (Plato and Aristotle) and philosophy of religion.

B.A. Film Studies, B.A. Philosophy, (2006) University of Utah
M.S. Philosophy, (2008) University of Utah

Daniel Schwartz Email Web
Office: HSS 8073

I received a B.A. in liberal arts from St. John's College Annapolis in 2006. I am interested in early modern philosophy of science and in the history of philosophy more generally. Topics of special interest include: Baconian induction and its implementation by Galileo and others, Whewell's revival of the Baconian project and his debate with Mill, Kant's philosophy of science, and Aristotle's philosophy of science.

Jacob Stegenga Email Web
Multimodal evidence is a critical feature of modern science and of our everyday lives. Drugs are tested with multiple techniques, legal trials include evidence of multiple kinds, and policies are based on diverse kinds of evidence. Despite the ubiquity and importance of the concept of multimodal evidence, it has received little philosophical attention. My research explores the epistemic virtues and challenges of multimodal evidence. In my spare time, I enjoy mountaineering, cycling, and reading fiction.

Adam Streed Email Web
Ph.D. Candidate, UCSD (2008)
B.A., Washington University (2003) - Philosophy and PNP

I am interested in philosophy of mind, logic, and ethics. Currently I am trying to integrate those interests in a dissertation on normativity in logic and reasoning.

Chris Suhler Email Web
I received a B.A. in Philosophy and Anthropology from the University of Arizona in 2007 and, after a year away from academia, came to UCSD in 2008. Most of my philosophical interests fall within the scope of Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Psychology, and Moral Psychology. My general approach to philosophy can be (crudely) summarized as examining how findings and methods from the cognitive sciences (especially psychology and neuroscience) can inform problems traditionally considered the domain of philosophy. Although I'm interested in any philosophical topic that's amenable to empirical investigation, at the moment my focus is on moral psychology, social cognition, and decision making.

Michael Tiboris email web
PhD Candidate, UC San Diego (2007): Philosophy
BA, University of Wisconsin - Madison (2002)-Philosophy, Political Science, and Integrated Liberal Studies.
My interests are in political philosophy, philosophy of law, and moral psychology. My dissertation is on children's moral agency and diminished moral responsibility. I'm also interested in the place of the family in liberalism, punishment and forgiveness, topics in ancient Greek philosophy, and the philosophy of education.

Peter Yong Email
Office: HSS 7059

I'm just starting the program (Fall 2008), so I'm still pretty intellectually promiscuous. However, even though my interests are diffuse, I've been focusing lately on philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and German idealism. I received my BA in Philosophy from Biola University (2003) where I focused mainly on metaphysics and epistemology. I was also part of their great books program (the Torrey Honors Institute). After that, I received an MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary where I worked primarily on postmodern religious epistemology, ethics, and theology and science. After that, I received an MA in Philosophy from CSU Los Angeles (2008) and wrote my thesis on phenomenal accounts of mental representation. Besides studying philosophy I like to listen to opera, look at art, go to the theater, read, and write. I am also absolutely enthralled by Marcel Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu.