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Kimberly Beasley |
I am originally from Richmond, Virginia. In Virginia, I received my B.A. in Philosophy and American Studies from Christopher Newport University in 2022. I received my M.A. in Philosophy from Kent State University in 2024. My philosophical interests include social and political philosophy, feminist philosophy, and ethics. I am particularly interested in bioethics and care ethics. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. |
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John Boland |
I am interested in epistemology. I received my undergraduate degree in history from the College of William and Mary. I began my formal study of philosophy at the New School for Social Research before coming to South Carolina. |
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Nathan Cesky |
I am interested in the philosophy of action, free will, moral responsibility, and arguments for compatibilism. I am also interested in epistemology, particularly the problem of induction and what can be considered a proper source for knowledge. I received a B.S. in business administration in 2018 and a Master of Divinity in 2022. |
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Joseph Erickson |
I received a BA in philosophy from Columbia International University in 2013. My primary interests are ethics and philosophical hermeneutics, especially in the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer. Some of my side interests include bias, metaphor, and the nature of understanding. |
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Kelly Gallagher |
My primary area of research is in contemporary neo-Aristotelian and Thomistic metaphysics. I am particularly interested in the relationship between Aristotelian conceptions of Nature and contemporary definitions of life. I explore this in my dissertation, where I argue that a strong version of hylomorphism (i.e. a Thomistic understanding) avoids the circularity problems that plague life definitions and thus provides a more fruitful framework for thinking about the nature of life. Furthermore, I am beginning to work on a related project where I argue that an Aristotelian understanding of Nature can provide a promising route for reconciling traditional views about essences with evolution, thus preserving belief in natural kinds. I also have an active interest in the role of skilled knowledge (techne) in human flourishing, and how technology can effect this for better or worse. When not doing academic things, I am probably doing renovation projects on my home or watching my chickens free range in the back yard. |
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Austin Gray |
I am interested in a range of questions at the intersection of truth, inquiry, and ethics (including metaethics, practical ethics, and social ethics), as well as 20th century aesthetics. I tend to research cross-disciplinarily, both in and outside philosophy, though I am most familiar with American pragmatism. My most recent work makes use of William James's "Will To Believe" to argue for the epistemic permissibility of a belief-adjacent practice I call faux-believing. Lately, I have been bumbling between a few research projects bringing what I've learned from the pragmatists into dialogue with other philosophical approaches, especially those that are vocally contrastive or critical. I have also been exploring the recent uptick in scholarship surrounding Dewey's aesthetics and logic, particularly the work emphasizing Dewey's notion of "quality." When I am not studying, I enjoy reading the many tomes of world fiction. I care for two cats, Ricky and Snowball. Recent Publications: |
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John Anderson Harris |
I am interested in care ethics, care aesthetics, and pragmatism. My dissertation develops an account of caring relationships that takes seriously the work of John Dewey and his connection to care ethical thought. Using Dewey, I suggest that good caring relationships are aesthetic experiences. By cashing out caring relationships in terms of aesthetic experience, I explore how good care entails a particular practice of expression and results in the consummatory experience of growth. |
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Tori Hui
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My current research primarily centers on contemporary epistemology, with a specific focus on issues related to ignorance, virtue epistemology, and scepticism. During my undergraduate studies, I was particularly drawn to political philosophy and the philosophy of language. Apart from philosophy, I have a passion for playing tennis, photography, and watching CS:GO games. |
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Leye Komolafe |
My areas of research are political philosophy and philosophy of law, while my areas
of interest include the history of ideas and African philosophy (with emphasis on
a critique of cultural essentialism in postcolonial discourses). My primary research
is focused on legal theories and the notion of legal and political obligation, as
I aim to develop a thesis on the ontological primacy of the human subject in law,
which interrogates the state’s peremptory demand of obligation and the prima facie
justification of law. Before joining the Ph.D. program at USC, I received my B.A. and M.A. degrees in philosophy from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, respectively. I also taught undergraduate courses in philosophy at Dominican University, Ibadan, and the University of Ibadan, both as an assistant lecturer and a teaching assistant. I enjoy theatrical productions, jazz music, and arthouse films. Recent Publications: 2023. Hegel’s Historical Denialism and Epistemic Eclipse in African Philosophy. Journal of Contemporary African Philosophy, 4(2), pp. 36-45. 2022. African Jurisprudence as Historical Co-extension of Diffused Legal Theories. Thought and Practice: A Journal of the Philosophical Association of Kenya, 8(1), pp.51-68. |
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Yun-Ying Kuo |
Originally from Taiwan, I received my BSc in Pharmacy from Taipei Medical University,
and MA in Philosophy from Institute of Philosophy of Mind and Cognition, National
Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
My research interests lie at the intersection of philosophy of medicine, philosophy
of science in practice, and bioethics, specifically in treatment decision-making,
clinical trials and Evidence-based medicine. In my spare time, I am an art lover and
jogger.
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Carol Lin |
Originally from China, I received my BA from Chongqing University and MA from Beijing
Normal University. My current research interests include philosophy of language (theories
of meaning), philosophy of mind, and metaphysics. I enjoy hiking, cycling, visiting museums, playing board games, going to the theater, watching soccer games, drinking gin cocktails, and reading science fiction and poetry in my spare time. |
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Eric Maher |
I graduated from The University of Pittsburgh in 2013. I am interested in the Philosophy of Physics and the Philosophy of Science. |
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Emily Mathias |
Originally from Michigan, I received my MA in philosophy from Western Michigan University
and I am working towards my PhD at U of SC. My primary research is at the intersection
of philosophy of language and ethics. I also enjoy working with philosophy of mathematics,
philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre.
"Groundwork for the Moral Evaluation of Speech Acts". Social Philosophy Today v.35, 2019, 129-142.
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Carol Lynn Miller |
I am interested in personalism, philosophical anthropology, and existentialism. Before coming to UofSC I studied twentieth-century European personalism, which combines metaphysics and phenomenology to form a more complete understanding of the human person, at the University of Lublin in Poland. My Master’s thesis compared and contrasted the thought of Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II who formerly taught at the university) and Norris Clarke (an American who taught at Fordham University but did his doctoral studies in personalism in Louvain), two of the more prominent thinkers in the field. |
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Maritza Mills |
My research interests are in the philosophy of mind, cognitive science and artificial
intelligence. I'm particularly interested in emotion-cognition interaction, and how philosophical
assumptions regarding emotions and intelligence influence research in these fields.
Prior to USC, I earned my MS in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology,
and worked as a product manager for Google, Amazon Web Services and startups.
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Kirk Mishrell |
I am originally from Atlanta, Ga where I earned a MA in history from Georgia State
University. My past research focused on radical youth subculture such as Norwegian
black metal and Florida death metal. I have studied the history and theory of American
horror and (at one point) I was interested in historical accounts of the paranormal. Currently, I am interested in the philosophy of religion and historical arguments for the existence of God in the tradition of monotheism. |
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Amir Motesharei |
My primary focus is the philosophy of science, particularly the realism and anti-realism debate, and how the notion of scientific models relates to this discourse. I'm also intrigued by the role of non-epistemic values in science. Beyond this, I'm passionate about exploring the profound wisdom embedded in Iranian traditional philosophy, including the illuminationist philosophies of Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra, and how they relate to contemporary philosophical discourse. I obtained my master’s in philosophy of science from Sharif University of Technology in Iran. |
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Sarah Pressman |
Before coming to UofSC, I received my BA in philosophy from Baylor University. My
research areas are in virtue ethics and moral psychology. Currently, I am interested
in how suffering plays a role in the virtuous life. Outside of academics, I enjoy knitting, reading fiction, and playing piano. |
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James Stewart |
I received my M.A. from the University of Wales, Trinity St. David. My primary area
of interest is in epistemology as it relates to theory confirmation and inference
to the best explanation. I am also researching in the philosophy of science, philosophy
of biology, human evolutionary theory, and physical anthropology.
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Patrick Tully |
I am interested in New Natural Law Theory, ethics in general (especially bioethics), and aesthetics. I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Franciscan University of Steubenville. |
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Carter Weinstein |
I received my undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Florida. I am interested in Normative Ethics, especially Virtue Ethics, the Philosophy of Emotion, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. |
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Nicholas Wilson |
I am interested in philosophy of religion and ethics with a side interest in metaphysics. In particular, I focus on approaches to natural theology and conceptions of natural law. |