Research

My primary research areas are decision theory and normative ethics, though I also have broader interests in formal epistemology, philosophy of science, and PPE.

Lately, I have been investigating the extent to which Bayesian decision theory can be neatly integrated with traditional deontological principles, like the doctrines of double effect and doing and allowing. This project aims to clarify the logic of some classic forms of moral reasoning, while also enabling non-consequentialists to avail themselves of standard approaches to risk management in the face of both empirical and normative uncertainty. A more detailed summary of this work as well as other facets of my overall research program can be found here.

I have also been assisting Wolfgang Spohn in a project exploring the foundations of decision and game theory.

My dissertation, The Logic of Planning, unpacked the import of dynamic consistency principles in the context of Jeffrey-style decision theories (i.e., theories in the mold of Richard Jeffrey’s classic Logic of Decision).

Publications

Works in Progress

  • A Causal Modeler’s Guide to Doing and Allowing Harm.
  • Is the Means Principle Dynamically Coherent?