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Works in progress These papers, if available, are in draft form; please do not quote without contacting me first. Comments are highly appreciated! Does Longino have a Nazi problem? One important feminist criticism of Helen Longino's contextual empiricism is the apparent requirement of including anti-feminists -- such as Nazis -- in a context for objective inquiry. I consider a response to this objection, but show that it causes other problems, equally objectionable from a feminist perspective. Finally, I show that Rawls' definition of reasonable persons in Political Liberalism suffers a parallel problem. Handout for the talk based on this paper Slides for the talk based on this paper The value of explanation I present and argue for an account of the value of explanation or explanatory power that is inspired by the pragmatism of John Dewey and is, I claim, superiour to the accounts of the value of explanation given by classical realist and empiricist approaches in the philosophy of science. Slides for the talk based on this paper	Philosophy recovers itself when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, for dealing with the problems of men. John Dewey
blog posts I have been blogging for several years on politics and philosophy at my friend Ben's blog, The Staff of Ra. A few of my favourite posts: What is the state of nature? September 2005 Locke and Hobbes had very different conceptions of the state of nature, and I believe there is a parallel split in fundamental political philosophies in our own society. 20 questions for pro-choice people March 2006 Answers 19 questions put forth by an anti-choice ethicists. This is probably the most popular piece I've written for the blog. Defining radical feminism May 2007 What is radical feminism? What makes it different from other claims about the status of women and our notions of gender? A preliminary answer to these questions. Reconceptualizing underrepresentation August 2008 The underrepresentation of women and other groups within STEM (science-technology-engineering-mathematics) fields is usually regarded as a problem of numbers. I adapt Iris Marion Young's account of injustice as oppression to sketch an account of underrepresentation as a problem of injustice.	Pleonexia, a vice in the Aristotelian scheme, is now the driving force of modern productive work. Alasdair MacIntyre
Old papers Papers dated before Spring 2008 are primarily old seminar papers that I thought turned out especially well. Philosophy of science Some thoughts on evolutionary theory March 2002 I argue that Intelligent Design is unacceptable as a scientific theory because it lacks explanatory power and cannot generate a fertile progressive research programme. The hole argument March 2007 I argue that the standard presentation of Einste's `hole argument' fails to capture Einstein's argument accurately, and that the standard solution by appeal to diffeomorphic equivalence is inappropriate for Einstein's version. Some implications for the significance of general covariance are indicated. On the ideal of autonomous science October 2007 I show that the ideal of value-neutral science policy is deeply connected to libertarian political philosophy, and hence is neither truly value-neutral nor uncontroversial. Is well-ordered science a well-ordered society? March 2008 In Science, truth and democracy Philip Kitcher describes an ideal for science policy that he calls well-ordered science. In an endnote, he claims well-ordered science is related to the well-ordered society of John Rawls' A theory of justice. I examine this connection. This paper is deprecated. Science, ends, and democracy April 2009 My dissertation proposal. I start with a discussion of the Science and Values movement, and the controversial underdetermination argument. I then sketch an alternative approach to Science and Values, drawing heavily on Aladair MacIntyre's notion of a practice and John Dewey's conception of the relationship between scientific inquiry and its social context. Next I turn to work in deliberative democracy to suggest how this sketch can be further developed. Finally I indicate how my account can be operationalized by examining the President's Council on Bioethics as an institution for public deliberation about the practice of scientific inquiry.	I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires. Susan B. Anthony Justice should refer not only to distribution, but also to the institutional conditions necessary for the development and exercise of individual capacities and collective communication and cooperation. Iris Marion Young
Ethics and political philosophy Review of Martha Nussbaum, Frontiers of justice November 2006 A book review Intuitions, capabilities, and Aristotle December 2006 I consider the charge that Martha Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach is inappropriately intuitionistic. I show, not only how she can respond to this charge, but use this response to clarify the connection between the Capabilities Approach and Aristotelean ethics. Philosophy of mathematics Kant, geometry of intuition, and intuition of geometry December 2003 A broad reply to Russell' s and Reichenbach's arguments that geometry is not synthetic a priori. This paper formed the basis for my writing sample for admission to Notre Dame. This paper is deprecated. Problems with foundationalism in the philosophy of mathematics January 2008 I show that, contrary to a line of argument common in the philosophy of mathematics literature, the sheer fact that all mathematical theories are interpretable in set theory does not imply that set theory can be a foundations for mathematics.	Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and, roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison. Mary Wollstonecraft
history of philosophy The proof of God and the possibility of materialism in Locke's Essay October 2004 Argues that there is an unavoidable contradiction between two sections of Locke's Essay concerning human understanding, dealing with materialism and his argument for the existence of God. The reality of Berkeley's objects December 2004 Examines the notion of objecthood in Berkeley's philosophy. miscellany On the consistency of Chisholm's axioms of epistemic logic April 2007 I examine Chisholm's epistemic logic, and show that one of his key axioms is equivalent to an unacceptably rigid methodological principle. Fictionalism and naturalism in mathematics April 2007 A short discussion of fictionalism and Quinean and Maddyean naturalism. A statistical analysis of The philosophical gourmet report 2009 May 2009 I analyze The philosophical gourmet for evidence of bias against women and to model the factors that contribute to its rankings. I conclude that it is not biased against women, but does exhibit a substantial bias towards departments with unearned authority. Dataset for this paper HTML version of this paper	We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Martin Luther King, Jr.