My research looks into the relationship between persons, what they value and their commitments, and the social practices and institutions in which they live. I am interested in how philosophical accounts of agency, identity and the good life can help us understand ethical and social questions.

Persons, Identity & Existential Commitments

What does it mean for a commitment to become part of who we are and inform decisions we make over the course of our lives?

My doctoral research examines this question through the philosophy of religion and language. In Voices of Faith: A Non-Cognitive Approach to Understanding Religious Utterances and Their Role in Persons’ Lives, I argue that understanding religious utterances requires us to look beyond their possible propositional content and consider how they express practical identity.
My current work on existential commitments develops this approach beyond the religious context. It investigates more broadly how commitments become constitutive of a person’s practical identity and asks how such commitments shape agency, practical reasoning and our understanding of ourselves.

Work, Participation & the Good Life

What role should work play in a good human life?

My current research project examines work not simply as a means of securing income, but as a social practice that can shape identity, agency, recognition and participation. It asks under what conditions work can contribute to a good life and when the demands and structures of work instead undermine it.

Within this broader project, I am particularly interested in meaningful work, participation and co-determination, changing expectations across generations, and transformations of working life through digitalisation and artificial intelligence. The project connects philosophical questions about the good life and personal identity with contemporary debates about institutions and the way work is organised.

Applied Ethics & Social Practices

How can philosophical analysis contribute to ethical judgement within complex professional and institutional settings?

A third strand of my research connects philosophical ethics with social work, healthcare and emerging technologies. I am particularly interested in situations in which abstract ethical principles come into contact with institutional constraints, unequal distributions of power or resources and the practical responsibilities of professionals.

Current work includes research on scarcity and professional responsibility in social work as well as the epistemic consequences of using generative AI and algorithmic scoring systems in social and clinical practice. I am interested not only in what ethical principles require, but also in how institutional structures affect people’s ability to exercise their judgement, participate in decision-making and be recognised and recognise others as agents.