My areas of specialization are the philosophy of language and mind.

I am interested in human nature. I explore two of the traditional answers as to what is distinctive about our nature—our use of language and our sociality—by constructively engaging with cutting-edge work in linguistics and psychology.

My dissertation focused on the meaning and use of demonstratives—words such as this and that—and joint attention—individuals attending together. These phenomena are related to each other, as well as to our distinctive linguistic and social behaviour, since demonstratives are often used to direct another’s attention to this or that object, sharing one’s thoughts or feelings about it.

In my first postdoc project after dissertation, I considered modern institutions in order to shed further light on our linguistic behaviour and social nature. And I continue to extend my research by shifting its focus from small-scale joint interactions such as joint attention to larger-scale social organization.

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Here are my papers accepted for publication.

  • Knowledge-First Mentalizing: Concept-Based or Merely State-Based? Forthcoming at Synthese. (Journal/PhilPapers)
  • Clearing up Clouds: Underspecification in Demonstrative Communication. Canadian Journal of Philosophy 53, No. 1 (2023). (Journal/PhilPapers)
  • Joint Attention and Communication. Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 67, No. 10 (2022). (Journal/PhilPapers)

Here’s a public philosophy piece on Nietzche’s views about how individuals relate to social reality.

  • Nietzsche on Justice. Forthcoming at the Washington University Review of Philosophy. (Philpapers)

Finally, some papers in various stages of progress.

  • [A paper on speech acts]. Under Review.
  • Reference in a Language Game. Manuscript in Preparation.
  • Demonstratives Contribute Conventional Implicatures. Manuscript in Preparation.


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