Department of Political Science Faculty & Office Staff

Howdy! I am Western Kentucky University’s resident logical atomist, and an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Political Science. After earning a B.A. in philosophy and B.S. in mathematics from George Washington University in D.C., I earned a PhD in philosophy and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Iowa. Here is a link to my CV.

In true Texan fashion, I started in philosophy while in a car, reading Plato’s Republic on a road trip to Houston in junior high. I later took symbolic logic as a college freshman and fell in love with the subject. One thing led to another, and in 2018, I got a PhD in Philosophy and an MS in Mathematics from the University of Iowa.

Most of my current research focuses on the Principia Rewrite project, which is partly funded with a Scholarly Editions grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Recently I published a co-edited volume, Bertrand Russell, Feminism, and Women Philosophers in His Circle (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024). Before that, I published another co-edited volume, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism: A Centenary Reappraisal.

Areas of research interest to me include:

-          History of analytic philosophy (i.e. British and American philosophy, 1850-1950)

-          Philosophy of science, especially logic and math (e.g. notation, proof, and computation)

-          Metaphysics, especially truth-makers, perception, intentionality, and concrete objects

-          Computational philosophy (e.g. philosophy using interactive theorem-provers)

In addition, I have directed or contributed to the following digital philosophical projects:

-          The University of Iowa Principia Mathematica Map and Table Site (PM-MATS)

-          Principia Mathematica: The Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Story

-          The principia TeX package

-          LibriVox public-domain (free) audio books

-          The University of Iowa Tractatus Map Project (PI: David G. Stern)

I strongly encourage students in my classes to pursue a digital philosophical project of their own (meaning a digital project such that they still do critical, creative, and substantial philosophical work). If you are in one of my courses and want to pursue such a project, get in touch!

Courses that I have taught previously include:

   -  Philosophy of Science

   -  Metaphysics and Epistemology

   -  British and American Philosophy

   -  Philosophy of Language

   -  Symbolic Logic

   -  Truth and Relativism

   -  Principles of Reasoning

   -  Introduction to Philosophy

   -  Meaning of Life

I have also supervised capstone projects and undergraduate research (FUSE) projects. If you are a student and would like to do research with me, get in touch! 

What do Supreme Court Justice David Souter, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, and NBA Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson have in common? They were all philosophy majors in college.

Philosophy is a great major. Did you know that (sources given in the linked articles):

-  Philosophy majors attending medical school, even when they never took pre-med classes and traditional science courses, “perform just as well, if not better, than their peers with science backgrounds…who had a traditional pre-medical preparation.”

-  Philosophy majors are “gainfully employed and happy” after graduation

-  Philosophy majors are “in the top 13%” of majors for mid-career earnings

-  Philosophy majors have the fourth-highest mid-career earnings ($81,000) of those with only a bachelor’s degree

-  Philosophy majors have a 95% employment rate six months after graduation

-  Philosophy majors have an average salary of $63,000 ($30 per hour) in the U.S.

-  Philosophy majors have a median mid-career (i.e. 10 years out from graduation) salary of $80,000 – more than business management majors or chemistry majors, and $10,000 more than the median U.S. household income

-  Philosophy majors have a median starting (i.e. at 6 months out from graduation) salary of $40,000 and double that salary number within 10 years of graduating

-  Philosophy majors have an average (early, mid, and late career earners put together) salary of $63,000 ($30 per hour) in the U.S.

-  Philosophy majors have the best scores on the LSAT and GRE, and 3^rd best on the GMAT 

So philosophers:

1. Find jobs within six months of graduating, contrary to the stereotype of unemployed philosophers
2. Make thousands more than the median U.S. worker within six months of graduating
3. Earn excellent highest mid-career salaries, especially among those without a graduate degree
4. Are strong candidates for admission to graduate programs
5. Do better in graduate programs than their peers, even in medical school as compared with those graduating with a pre-med major

So, if you want a job that pays enough to live on after graduating, pays well enough to thrive ten years after graduating, and opens pathways to graduate schools and careers that follow them, then philosophy is a great major for you. Supposing you are interested in how philosophy can make any and all of that possible for you, complete our 2-minute philosophy program interest form.