I earned my B.A. in cognitive science from Syracuse University, and my Ph.D. in philosophy from Duke University. I am currently the Director of Graduate Studies for Philosophy at UC.

I am the president-elect of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology. My work focuses on naturalistic accounts of the metaphysics of mind, especially of sensations. Recently I have been working on metaphilosophical questions concerning the methods of philosophy and sources of philosophical knowledge. And I am working with Larry Shapiro on a book project tenatively called Realization and Explanation.

My first book, Natural Minds (The MIT Press), makes room for an identity theory of conscious mental states. (A color version of Figure 2.2 is available.) I have also written about the intersection of philosophy of mind and philosophy of science.

Over the years I have worked as camp counselor, dishwasher, teaching assistant, juggler, information systems consultant, web designer, fire eater, and professor. Really.