Research Interests
My research projects are unified by the theme of unjust inequality. I am particularly interested in how we might describe and evaluate inequalities in various contexts, including our everyday choices, institutions, and inquiry.
Manuscripts Under Preparation
email me for drafts
A paper on the irrelevance view of discrimination
A paper on distinctive wrongs and their role in moral inquiry
A paper on the concept of social salience
A paper on affirmative action (with James Bernard Willoughby)
A paper on moral encroachment (with Brandon Yip)
Doctoral Thesis
Treating People Differently
The view that (wrongful) discrimination involves differential treatment on the basis of irrelevant considerations has been scarcely defended. In my thesis, I look to defend it. In the first half, I develop a notion of irrelevance and use it to describe rationality's role in a conception of discrimination. In the second half, I address the worry that a focus on rationality dilutes discrimination's putative moral content. I show that an irrelevance view of discrimination allows that paradigm cases, as marked by socially salient attributes, warrant special moral concern. Two upshots. First, the resulting conception of discrimination is ecumenical with respect to moral theories. Second, the resulting conception of discrimination accounts not just for inequalities precipitated by background injustice, but ones that are new or emerging too.