Research

My published work centers on three overlapping areas: early modern philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of religion. I served for more than a decade as a director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion at Notre Dame, and I have been a principal investigator for more than $12M in funded research projects. Below you will find a summary of my research interests and links to some of those projects. I also teach regularly on the ethics of digital technologies, philosophy of mind, and many other periods of philosophical history.

Research Areas

Early modern metaphysics

Early Modern Metaphysics

The bulk of my published work focuses on the rich metaphysics of Spinoza and Leibniz, with an eye towards parallel work in contemporary metaphysics and many other early moderns. I have written about ontology, modality, dependence, causation, explanation, universals, idealism, monism, perfection, and representation. My work on Spinoza's metaphysics and ethics came together in Reconceiving Spinoza (Oxford University Press, 2018), which was generously funded by an NEH fellowship. I am currently working on a new, wide-ranging book project, No Cheating! A Spinozistic Reading of Early Modern Metaphysics, which has also been generously funded by the NEH.

Early modern philosophy of religion

Early Modern Philosophy of Religion

My research also focuses on early modern philosophy of religion, most especially the problem of evil and the nature of God. Early modern discussions of evil brought together complex metaphysical, theological, epistemological, and moral issues, and I enjoy trying to sort through them, always with an eye towards parallel discussions in contemporary philosophy of religion. I am currently working on a book on the metaphysics of evil, tentatively titled Evil among the Early Moderns

Funded Research Projects

In addition to receiving two NEH fellowships, I have served as principal investigator on several large, externally funded research initiatives.

The Experience Project

The Experience Project

A 3-year, $5.1 million research initiative sponsoring new work in philosophy, psychology, sociology, and religious studies on the nature of transformative and religious experiences. Co-directed with Laurie Paul and Michael Rea.

2014–2017