I’m an ethicist and cognitive scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (officially, Professor of Philosophy and Psychology). My work aims to understand moral controversies related to science and technology. In my spare time, I like to visit National Parks, climb rocks, play music, cook mostly vegetarian food, and play tennis with my daughter. > CV <

My research explores ethical issues at the intersection of science and technology, from AI safety to neurodiversity. My latest book, The Least We Can Do (with Victor Kumar, UCP 2027), defends a reducetarian diet as the best way to wean humanity off factory farming. Before that, I argued in Neuroethics (OUP 2023) that human agency and mental health are diverse and flexible, if largely automatic and unconscious. My first book, Regard for Reason in the Moral Mind (OUP 2018), argued that reasoning plays a fundamental role in moral thought and action. Articles on these and related topics have appeared in Nature, Behavioral & Brain Sciences, Cognition, Philosophical Studies, Journal of Medical Ethics, Mind & Language, Neuroethics, and other journals.

My public-facing work includes articles for outlines like The Boston Globe, Psyche, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, and The Birmingham News. I’ve also given interviews on programs like WVTM-13 news, Vox’s Unexplainable, ABC’s Counterpoint, and Voices in Bioethics . And I write blog posts on my Substack, Motivated Reasonings.

I teach a range of philosophy courses, but my regulars are Ethics of AI, Bioethics, Neuroethics, Ethics: Theories of Good and Evil, and Philosophical Methods. I occasionally teach seminars on special topics, such as Political Polarization and Moral Progress. In 2017, I was honored to receive the Outstanding Professor Award from the students in UAB’s Early Medical School Acceptance Program.

From 2020-2022, I was on an Academic Cross-Training Fellowship, which relieved me from teaching while I studied neuroscience and joined Rajesh Kana’s Cognition, Brain, and Autism lab. Currently, I’m affiliated with Victor Kumar’s Mind & Morality Lab (Boston University) and Daryl Cameron’s Consortium on Moral Decision-Making (Penn State).

Other professional activities include serving on the editorial board for Neuroethics and Philosophical Psychology, working in the leadership of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology (as well as the Southern SPP), previously coaching UAB’s ethics debate team, and participating in UAB’s Comprehensive Neuroscience Center and the Institute for Human Rights.