Research Overview

In my dissertation, I developed a pragmatic philosophy of causal reasoning about technological disasters. I drew upon case studies, such as the Bhopal gas tragedy, and brought together scientific research of safety and philosophical ideas about causation. My overarching idea was that technological disasters are rarely caused by technical failures and human errors. Rather, they are caused by confluences of social, organizational, and cultural factors. Nevertheless, I found researchers and safety practitioners tended to focus on some factors as distinctively important for understanding why disasters happen and how to make systems safer. Hence, I worked to create a method for analyzing this selective causal reasoning that related the distinct “causal features” different factors possessed and how certain sets of features may or may not be conducive to certain purposes, such as prevention, investigation, or blame. My Philosophy of Science article [Open Access] and manuscript presented at the PSA on “causal delay” and “authority gradient” demonstrate my method.

Since then, my research has broadened. Now, I am working to understand John Stuart Mill’s empiricist epistemology in Logic and Examination. I am curious how his thoroughgoing empiricism in these texts relates to his ideas about social knowledge in On Liberty. In particular, I am seeking to comprehend Mill’s aim to expel notions of “necessary truths” from philosophy, and how this may form a bridge between his epistemological project and his progressive political philosophy.

In addition, I am also working to understand how Mill’s thought may have influenced the American pragmatists. In particular, I am trying to figure out why William James dedicated Pragmatism to Mill, seeking out for any consilience between James’s “radical empiricism” and the enrichments Mill made to the tradition in his Logic. With the help of my friend Niall Roe, I am trying figure out why C.S. Peirce seemingly loathed Mill, despite many similarities in their thought.

Expanding on my research of technological disasters, I am currently exploring how interactions between technology and culture lead to other sorts of outcomes. In particular, I am working to understand how technologies can shape how we reason and how we make ethical judgments without us noticing. I explore these questions with help from my students in the philosophy of technology courses I teach, from the curious writings of mid-century tech critics, such as Lewis Mumford, Neil Postman, Ivan Illich, and Joseph Weizenbaum; and from many insightful internet culture reporters who help keep me apprised of the most pressing issues online. Behind this research is a Millian aspiration to know how to liberate thought and character from the often constraining and homogenizing influences of digital technologies.