Research
Most of my research is in epistemology (social, political, value). I also research and teach in philosophy of mind, value theory, and metaphysics.
I'm especially interested in topics where epistemology intersects with other areas of philosophy, the humanities, and social and cognitive psychology.
Research interests: conspiracy theory, echo chambers, skepticism and its practical applications, the nature and ethics of belief, suspension of judgment, epistemic value, epistemic autonomy, identity-protective thinking, manipulation.
I'm currently writing a short book, The Philosophy of Indoctrination (Routledge, under contract).
I run the Theoretical Philosophy Research Group (VU Amsterdam, Department of Philosophy) along with Professor René van Woudenberg.
I'm embedded within the ERC Extreme Beliefs project. I'm also part of the DFG Thinking about Suspension network.
Research history
Post-doc, NWO Vidi project
I worked within the NWO Knowledgeable Democracy: A Social-Epistemological Inquiry research project (PI: Jeroen de Ridder) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. I worked primarily on the epistemology of deep disagreement.
Grant, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
I was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grant to do post-doctiral research at the University of Cologne. I was part of the epistemology group.
Post-doc, UNAM
I was a postdoctoral researcher at UNAM, in Mexico City. I was part of the epistemology research group as well as the philosophy of mind & cognition and philosophy of language groups.
Visiting Researcher, University of California, Berkeley
I was a visiting researcher during my Ph.D. I took courses in epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of perception, working with the late Professor Barry Stroud. I worked on my Ph.D. and did research on the relationship between seeing, factive reasons, and knowledge.
Teaching
- Knowledge in a social world (ReMa)
- Epistemology (PPE)
- 20th century texts
- Philosophy & Neuroethics
- Metaphysics
- Ethics of Algorithms
- Academic Writing (AUC)
I've co-examined BA/MA theses and currently co-supervise Ph.D. students. I can supervise students on in epistemology and certain topics in philosophy of mind and metaphysics.