My research emerges from the contemporary intersection between phenomenology and philosophy of mind. I draw inspiration from the classical phenomenologists- namely Husserl and Merleau-Ponty. I have focused on the phenomenological concept of motivation. Husserl introduced this concept early in his Logical Investigations, and is meant to designate a kind of relation somewhere between entailment and causality. In the past I have thought of motivation in terms of phenomenal proximity, and used these ideas to critique functionalist accounts of mind (here), as well as make positive contributions to the methodology of critical theory. In my first stab at explaining the significance of this relation (here), I argue that motivation is key to understanding the phenomenology of perceptual objectivity and empathy. In this sense, the concept of motivation has both philosophical and historical importance.
More recently, I have been formulating a dissertation project that deals with issues in philosophy of mind and the philosophy of social phenomena. I am interested in the nature and value of thinking together. Here is a preliminary sketch.
