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Graduate Students

Office Assignments effective 9/15/21

  • William Albuquerque

    William Albuquerque

    walbuque@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0433

    B.A. Philosophy, Bowdoin College (2011)
    M.A. Philosophy, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (2016)

    Interests: Moral responsibility, moral psychology, meta-ethics, emotions.

  • Dallas Amico

    Dallas Amico

    damico@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0446

    M.A. Philosophy, Bowling Green State University 

    My research interests are primarily in metaethics and moral responsibility. In the former, I’ve been thinking about the status and nature of moral testimony and moral expertise, and about the relationship between epistemic challenges to robust realism about morality and epistemic challenges to robust realism about mathematics (e.g. evolutionary debunking arguments and the Benacerraf-Field challenge). In the latter, I’ve been thinking about when moral ignorance excuses wrong action.

  •  Henry Argetsinger

    Henry Argetsinger

    hargetsi@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0433

    BA: Beloit College, 2010
    MA: UW Milwaukee 2015

    I work on issues of moral responsibility, group identity, and the ethics of blame. I also have interests in narrative explanation, ultimate frisbee, and cats.

  • Javier Medina Barrientos

    Javier Medina Barrientos

    jmb224@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0437

    B.A. Philosophy, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 2017
    M.A. Philosophy of science, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2021

    My research interests lie at the intersection of philosophy of science, history and philosophy of astronomy, and the epistemology of measurement. I'm also drawn to issues concerning scientific progress and rationality, and scientific knowledge production processes.

  • Samantha Berthelette

    Samantha Berthelette

    sberthel@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0441

    B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science, University of Vermont
    M.A. in Philosophy, Florida State University

    I primarily work on problems concerning agency, moral responsibility, and the law—and I am especially interested when all three of these topics are involved. I also do work in philosophy of mind (especially self-deception) and well-being. Sometimes I do experiments to help support my arguments. When I'm not doing philosophy, I can usually be found West Coast Swing dancing or playing pool.

  • Andrew Bollhagen

    Andrew Bollhagen

    abollhag@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0435

    B.A. University of California, Irvine
    M.A. California State University, Long Beach
    Pre-Doctoral Research Associate, Mississippi State University

    Interests are: General Philosophy of Science, Practice-oriented Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Cell Biology (in particular "molecular motors"), Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Psychology, and Philosophy of Neuroscience.

  • Zack Brants

    Zack Brants

    zbrants@ucsd.edu 

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0429

    B.A. Philosophy, Computer Science, University of Washington (2016)

    My research mainly focuses on Plato and Aristotle’s moral psychology and ethics. I am particularly interested in understanding how their conceptions of anticipatory pleasure and anticipatory pain inform their views on desire, emotion, and virtue. I also attempt to trace the extent to which Aristotle engages with, and departs from, Plato on these issues.

  • Haggeo Cadenas

    Haggeo Cadenas

    hcadenas@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0446

    B.A in Psychology from Northern Arizona University
    M.A in Philosophy from Arizona State University

    I’m looking at the relationship between culture and knowledge. I am specifically looking at the cultural evolution of epistemic practice. I suspect that cultural evolutionary theory can provide us with an interesting form of evolutionary epistemology.

    Other interests include expressive and instrumental accounts of epistemology, philosophy of psychedelics, and philosophy of religion.

  • Weixin Cai

    Weixin Cai

    w3cai@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0441

    B.A. Philosophy, Renmin University of China
    M.A. Philosophy, Simon Fraser University

    Interests: topics related to causation and explanation in various areas including general philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, metaphysics, and ethics; theoretical virtues in scientific, metaphysical, and moral theories

  • Aaron Chipp-Miller

    Aaron Chipp-Miller

    achippmi@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0432

    B.A. Philosophy, UC San Diego (2020)

    I am interested in theories of equality in political philosophy, animal ethics, and decision making under normative uncertainty.

  • Eugene Y. S. Chua

    Eugene Y. S. Chua

    eychua@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0436

    M.A. (Cantab) Philosophy, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge (2017)

    Philosophy of Physics, History, and Philosophy of Science, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics, Data Ethics

  • Daniel Cohen

    djcohen@ucsd.edu 

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0434

  • Kathleen Connelly

    Kathleen Connelly

    kaconnelly@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0438

    B.A. Philosophy, University of Tennessee - Knoxville

    My research interests are in ethics and science studies. In particular, I’m interested in questions about moral responsibility motivated by engagement with empirical psychology and history of medicine. These interests have manifested in work on moral responsibility and implicit bias; my developing research includes work on whether moral responsibility and mental disability.

    When I’m not doing moral responsibility research, I’m interested in philosophy of language and feminist philosophy, by way of philosophical hobbies.

  • Samuel Delorme

    Samuel Delorme

    sdelorme@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0454

    B.A. UBC 2020
    M.A. UBC 2022

    Interests: Philosophy of action, moral psychology, agency over time
  • Emma Duncan

    Emma Duncan

    erduncan@ucsd.edu 

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0438

    B.A. Philosophy, Graphic Design, Portland State University (2010)
    M.A. Philosophy, Northern Illinois University (2015)

    My research interests lie primarily in issues pertaining to the ethics of interpersonal influence, especially as they intersect with psychology, medicine, and ethics of technology. My recent projects have been rooted in normative ethics and moral psychology, focusing on rational and non-rational methods of influence, trust, choice architecture (or “nudges”), and how different relationships shape the norms of interpersonal influence more broadly.

  • Maximilian Edwards

    Maximilian Edwards

    mvedward@ucsd.edu 

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room  0430

    B.A. Philosophy, Cambridge
    M.Phil. Philosophy, University College London

    My primary research focus is on Kant's theoretical philosophy - especially the nature and status of the categories and their various deductions, and the character of transcendental idealism. I also have a growing interest in the Critical system as a whole.  

  • Tyler Farmer

    Tyler Farmer

    tfarmer@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0469

    B.F.A. Dance, California State University, Long Beach
    M.A. Philosophy, Tufts University

    I’m interested in questions about how we can be (more) effective at performing our intended actions. As such, I think about the limitations of our agency and how we can leverage our capacities for planning and automatization to optimize our effectiveness within those limitations. I also think about how oppression and privilege impact both our immediate and extended agency, and how we can successfully navigate the limitations imposed on our agency by our social positions.

  • Bosco Garcia

    Bosco Garcia

    jgarca@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0436

    B.A. Universidad Complutense de Madrid
    M.A. University of Bristol

    Philosophy of physics, philosophy of neuroscience, history of science, and mathematics.

  • Juan Carlos González

    Juan Carlos González

    jcg050@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0435

    B.A. from Xavier University (2014)
    M.A. from the New School for Social Research (2017)

    My dissertation reconstructs Kant's theory of life, relating it to his doctrine of purposiveness as it's introduced in the Critique of the Power of Judgment. I also have research interests in the history of Latin American philosophy as well as post-Kantian European philosophy (especially 19th-century German Idealism).

  • Nathaniel Greely

    Nathaniel Greely

    ngreely@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0440

    B.A. Communication, University of Southern California
    M.A. Philosophy California State University Los Angeles

    Philosophy of cognitive science, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science

  • Julia Greig

    Julia Greig

    jgreig@ucsd.edu 

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0469

    B.A. Philosophy, Bryn Mawr College
    M.A. Classical Studies, Brandeis University

    I am primarily interested in the philosophy of death and questions about existence and nonexistence. I am especially curious about the logic of nonexistence and the metaphysics of death. I have additional interests in Presocratic and Hellenistic philosophy.

     

  • Ryan Hayes

    Ryan Hayes

    ryhayes@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0452

    B.A. Philosophy, University of Michigan-Dearborn, 2017
    M.A. Philosophy, Wayne State University, 2020

    My primary interest is in the philosophy of race broadly construed. I focus specifically on the status of mixed racial identities and what they can tell us about race as an active political process. I also have an interest in the intersection between philosophy of race and epistemology, investigating the idea of self-knowledge through experiences of oppression.

  • Min Heo

    Min Heo

    miheo@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0461

    B.A. Philosophy, Seoul National University (2015)
    M.A. Philosophy, Seoul National University (2017)

    Interests: Early modern philosophy, Kant's theoretical philosophy, Metaphysics, and Philosophy of language

  • Sammy Hirshland

    Sammy Hirshland

    shirshland@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0437

    B.S. in philosophy, Northeastern University 2019
    M.A. in philosophy, Virginia Tech 2022

    My interests are in applied ethics and epistemology. In applied ethics I focus primarily on questions related to concepts of disease and disability, and in epistemology I work on questions related to justification and the ethics of belief.

  • Imani Howard

    Imani Howard

    ihoward@ucsd.edu

    Office: 

    B.A. History and Philosophy of Science, Stanford University
    B.S. with Honors, Molecular and Cell Biology, Stanford University

    As an MD/PhD candidate, my primary research interests are the philosophy of medicine, the role of race and identity in healthcare and the physician-patient relationship. My clinical interests are in psychiatry and primary care.
  • John Kinney

    John Kinney

    jkinney@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0452

    B.S. Philosophy (H) and Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2019)

    I'm primarily interested in Kant's theoretical philosophy, philosophy of mind, and the intersection of the two (especially in issues pertaining to perception, mental content, and the metaphysics of mind). I have growing interests in philosophy of language and epistemology. I'm also interested and involved in public philosophy, mostly through Philosophy for Children (P4C). Aside from philosophy, I love running, climbing, playing piano, and all sorts of games (especially chess). games (especially chess). 

  • Thomas Kirkpatrick

    Thomas Kirkpatrick

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0471

    B.A. Philosophy, Willamette University (2011)
    M.A. Philosophy, Brandeis University (2015)

    My primary interests are in moral, social, and political philosophy. I also have secondary interests in moral epistemology, meta-ethics, and the history of philosophy. The questions I've read and written about the most pertain to descriptive social phenomena like groups, power, and subordination, as well as to normative political theories like relational egalitarianism, republicanism, and libertarianism.

  • Alice Koga

    Alice Koga

    akoga@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0434

    B.A. Philosophy, with a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of California Riverside

    My research interests include agency and moral psychology, as well feminist philosophy and philosophy of race. I am also interested in how issues in these areas interact with various topics in applied ethics.

  • JiMin Kwon

    JiMin Kwon

    hjkwon@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0438

    B.A. Philosophy and Biology, University of Dayton

    I work at the intersection of philosophy of science and epistemology. My current project involves questions pertaining to scientific realism and rationality. I also have an interest in teaching logic and ethics.
  • Huadian Liu

    Huadian Liu

    hul010@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0461

    B.S. Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
    MSc Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition, University of Edinburgh
    M.A. Philosophy, Tufts University

    Philosophy of mind and cognitive science (perception, the perception-cognition distinction, representationalism about perceptual experience, concepts, philosophical issues related to vision science and psycholinguistics); phenomenology (especially Husserl).

  • Ying Liu

    Ying Liu

    yil065@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0430

    B.A. Politics and Public Administration, South China Normal University
    M.A. Philosophy, University of Houston

    Primary interests: ethics, social philosophy, agency, practical reason.
    Secondary interest: History of moral and political philosophy.
  • Dafna Mark - Ben Shabat

    Dafna Mark - Ben Shabat

    dmarkben@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0439

    B.A. Humanities and Arts, Tel Aviv University

    Early modern philosophy, especially Spinoza. Questions of individuality, substance mode relations.

  • Noel Martin

    Noel Martin

    nbmartin@ucsd.edu

    B.A. Religious Studies, Humboldt State University
    M.A. Philosophy (Neurophilosophy Track), Georgia State University

    I’m primarily interested in philosophy of science, the cognitive sciences, neuroscience, and mind. I also have an interest in how these areas intersect with specific questions in moral philosophy and philosophy of perception. I am currently working on a dissertation project that investigates the ways in which scientists studying the mind and brain coordinate their efforts in practice and the role such coordinating might play in developing an account of scientific integration.

  • Joseph Martinez

    Joseph Martinez

    jdm001@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0429

    B.A. Philosophy UC Berkeley (2016)
    M.A. Philosophy UC San Diego (2019)

    Primary Interests: Action Theory and Metaphysics, esp. Metaphysics of Science
    Secondary Interests: Mexican Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, and Ethics

  • Marcus McGahhey

    Marcus McGahhey

    mmcgahhey@ucsd.edu 

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0440

    B.A. Philosophy, University of Louisiana at Lafayette 
    M.A. Philosophy (Neurophilosophy Track), Georgia State University

    My areas of interest include philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and epistemology. I'm especially drawn to issues concerning perceptual experience, intuition, epistemic justification, and self-knowledge. In my free time, I enjoy watching films, listening to comedy, and writing music on my guitar.

  • Leonardo Moauro

    Leonardo Moauro

    lmoauro@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0433

    B.A. Brown University,
    M.A. Tufts University.

    My research is centered on the history of ethics and moral psychology in the early modern period. My dissertation develops a comprehensive reading of Spinoza’s theory of value as combining both perfectionist and anti-realist elements. I am also interested in accounts of the mind’s sensitivity to influences commonly regarded as non-rational—such as the passions, habit, and social custom—and of the role these influences play in conceptions of freedom and autonomy.

  • Gabriel Nyberg

    Gabriel Nyberg

    gnyberg@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0432

    B.A. Theoretical Philosophy, University of Gothenburg (2017)
    MSc. Philosophy of Science, London School of Economics (2019)

    I'm broadly interested in the philosophy of science, objectivity, metaphilosophy, and foundational issues in any form of organized inquiry. In particular, I am drawn to issues in replication of scientific results, measurement, concept validation and epistemic transparency and public reason.

  • Karina Ortiz Villa

    Karina Ortiz Villa

    kortizvilla@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0469

    B.A. in Philosophy, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 

    My current research interests are in Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Law and Applied Ethics especially where these intersect with feminist philosophy, Philosophy of Race and Latinx Philosophy. When I am not doing philosophy, I am playing with my dog, hiking or swimming. I am also an immigrant from Chile and a former DACA student.
  • Subin Park

    Subin Park

    sup017@ucsd.edu 

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0471

    B.A. & M.A. Philosophy, Ewha Womans [sic] University, South Korea

    My primary research interest is in ancient Greek philosophy, primarily Plato’s and Aristotle’s moral philosophy and moral psychology. I also have interests in metaethics, particularly in questions related to moral judgment and moral realism/(non)-naturalism.

  • Michael Pittman

    mpittman@ucsd.edu

  • Faron Ray

    Faron Ray

    fray@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0434

    Interests: Philosophy of Science, AI Ethics, Cognitive Science/ Philosophy of Cognitive Science

  • Sam Ridge

    Sam Ridge

    siridge@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0446

    B.A. Philosophy and Economics (DePaul University)
    M.A. Philosophy (University of Houston)

    Interests: Ethics and moral psychology
  • Emiliano Salomón

    Emiliano Salomón

    esalomn@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0454

    B.A. Philosophy, Yale University

    My research interests are in the history of philosophy in Latin America (especially 20th century Mexico), German Idealism (especially Hegel), social philosophy, and aesthetics.
  • Louis Santoro

    Louis Santoro

    lsantoro@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0452

    Interests: Philosophy of language, philosophy of perception, cognitive science, ancient philosophy.

  • Ayoob Shahmoradi

    Ayoob Shahmoradi

    ayoob@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0429

    AOS: philosophy of mind, philosophy of language. 

  • Shelly Yiran Shi

    Shelly Yiran Shi

    yis007@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0436

    Undergrad: London School of Economics (LSE) BSc. Philosophy and Economics (2017)
    Masters: Columbia University MA. Philosophical Foundations of Physics (2019)

    Interests: Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Economics, Feminist Philosophy of Science
  • Ahmed Siddiqi

    Ahmed Siddiqi

    ahsiddiq@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0461

    B.A. Genetics, Rutgers University-New Brunswick 
    D.D.S. Texas A&M College of Dentistry

    M.A. Philosophy, University of Houston

    Primary Interests: Metaethics, Moral Psychology  
    Secondary Interests: Political Philosophy

  • On Yi Sin

    osin@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0439

  • Mika Smith

    Mika Smith

    ms223@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0437

    My interests lie at the intersection of the philosophies of science, technology (especially artificial intelligence), information, and psychology. I am also in the Science Studies Program and enjoy engaging in empirical research that aligns with my philosophical interests.

  • Katelyn Stephens

    kmstephens@ucsd.edu

  • Noam Tiran

    ntiran@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0434

  • Bas Tönissen

    Bas Tönissen

    btonisse@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0439

    B.A. Liberal Arts & Sciences, University College Roosevelt (2013)
    MPhil Philosophy, University of St. Andrews/Stirling joint program (2017)

    My interests at the most general level are in the history of philosophy, moral psychology, and the self. More specifically, I work on Kant's account of radical evil as well as a number of related topics in his philosophy, such as (self-)love, (self-)forgiveness, and the metaphysics of agency. I am interested both in correct interpretation of Kant's thought, as well as in bringing to bear neglected lessons from his work on contemporary debates in moral psychology.

  • Richard Vagnino

    Richard Vagnino

    rvagnino@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0435

    B.M. Music, History, New York University
    M.M. Music Theory and Composition, New York University

    Interests: Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Neuroscience, Scientific Practice, Analogical Reasoning

  • Jada Wiggleton-Little

    Jada Wiggleton-Little

    jwigglet@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0454

    B.A. in Philosophy, Davidson College (2013)

    I am primarily interested in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and clinical ethics. I am especially interested in how the three intersect with respect to pain. I am also interested in social epistemology and medical epistemology, specifically testimonial epistemology. When I am not doing philosophy, I am either at the movies, dancing, or writing poetry.

  • Keyao Yang

    Keyao Yang

    K2yang@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0441

    B.A. Sun Yat-sen University
    M.A. University of Houston

    Currently, my main interests are in ethics and moral psychology, with a special focus on philosophical issues related with addiction. 

  • Jacob Zellmer

    Jacob Zellmer

    jzellmer@ucsd.edu

    Office: Ridge Walk Academic Complex - Arts & Humanities Bldg. Room 0440

    B.A. Biblical Studies, Azusa Pacific University
    M.A. Philosophy, San Francisco State University

    My interests include early modern philosophy, medieval Islamic and Jewish philosophy, philosophy of religion, and contemporary epistemology. My current research is on the relation between reason and religion in Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise.