I have two current research projects. The first is about the practice of moral justification. We sometimes owe it to others to justify ourselves to them. When, and why, are we under such a duty? What do we owe, when we owe someone a justification? I answer these questions, and others, in “The Right to a Justification” (link below).

The second is about the nature of respect and its central role in personal relationships. I argue, against a cluster of influential views, that respecting another person requires a concern for their actual rather than merely hypothetical attitudes regarding my conduct towards them. I develop this account in “Justifiability and the Other’s Point of View” (e-mail me for a draft).

Publications

Puzzlement as a Guide to Understanding (2026) — Analysis

The Right to a Justification (2025) — Political Philosophy

Being Understood (2024) — Philosophical Issues

The Object of Moral Understanding (2024) — Ergo

Moral Understanding Between You and Me (2024) — Philosophy & Public Affairs

Solidarity and the Work of Moral Understanding (2024) — Philosophical Quarterly

Works in Progress (email me for drafts)

“Justifiability and the Other’s Point of View”

“Explaining Ourselves”

“Morality and the Metaphysics of Relationships”