My research interests primarily lie within aesthetics, normativity, social epistemology and the philosophy of emotions.
My project is titled 'Affective Voluntarism and Affective Distance', it analyses the nature and role of certain affective responses in the formation of aesthetic judgements. I question whether normative claims might be appropriately made of such affective responses with respect to the formation of aesthetic judgements and what direction such claims would take. More information can be found here.
The project draws from my PhD, 'Trust in Aesthetic Testimony'. My research on trust in aesthetic testimony centres on the way in which affective attitudes manipulate our relationship to evidence and the formation of beliefs. My work analyses the epistemic, practical and aesthetic implications of evidence-resistant trust in the testimony of purported epistemic authorities - both groups and individuals.
I have also recently written on affective attitudes towards AI and I am interested in the normative puzzles surrounding AI-human engagement.
Selected Publications:
(forthcoming). 'Emotions towards AI and the Echoes of a Paradox' in Oxford Intersections: AI in Society. Edited by Henry Shevlin. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
2024. 'Celebrity and Epistemic Influence: Evidence resistance and Epistemic recklessness', in Philosophy of Fame. Edited by Alfred Archer, Catherine Robb and Matthew Dennis. London: Bloomsbury.
2024. 'Aesthetic Testimony', in Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta. Co-authored with Jon Robson.
2022. 'Appreciation is Overrated', in Perspectives on Taste, edited by Jeremy Wyatt, Dan Zeman and Julia Zakkou. Co-authored with Jon Robson.
2021. 'Trust, Testimony and Reasons for Belief', in Epistemic Duties. Scott Stapleford and Kevin McCain. Routledge. Co-authored with Andrew Reisner.
Book Reviews:
2024. 'Aesthetic Testimony: An Optimistic Approach. Jon Robson OUP. 2022. pp. 176. £65.00 (hbk)' The British Journal of Aesthetics, ayad043.