I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Initiative in Ancient and Contemporary Philosophy and a lecturer in the Philosophy Department at Columbia University. I work in two fields that, to my mind, have interesting connections: ancient Greek philosophy, especially Plato, and psychoanalysis. I am particularly interested in the psychological conditions that make inquiry into the world and ourselves possible.
My research on Plato focuses on the Protagoras, Cratylus, Republic, and Theaetetus. In several papers, I examine Plato’s engagement with Protagorean relativism, as expressed in the so-called Measure Doctrine, according to which human beings are “the measure” of reality. Another set of papers explores the psychological significance of the distinction between appearance and reality in Plato, asking how education can “turn the soul around” toward reality. I have taught a range of classes in ancient Greek philosophy, ethics, and classical Chinese philosophy, as well as Columbia’s Contemporary Civilization.
My work in psychoanalysis extends this line of inquiry to our relationship with both external reality and psychic reality, by which I mean the reality of our own mental life. I am in advanced post-graduate training at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR), where I also maintain a practice, specializing in play therapy with children and psychoanalysis with adults. Drawing on this clinical work, I’m writing two papers on our relation to reality: “Hide and Seek,” based on my work with a latency-aged child, and a paper on Hans Loewald’s notion of the defense against the loss of reality.
I hold a PhD in Philosophy from Columbia University and a BA (Hons.) in Philosophy from NYU.