About Me
I am the R.C. Hoiles Endowed Chair in Business Ethics & Free Enterprise at Chapman University where I am also a founding member of the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy and an Associate Professor of Philosophy. I work on issues that lie at the intersection of political philosophy, economics, and social psychology. Prior to coming to Chapman, I was a Junior Research Fellow of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne where I also held appointments as a Research Fellow in the Centre for Ethical Leadership and an Honorary Fellow in the School for Historical and Philosophical Studies. I received my PhD in philosophy from the University of Arizona and an MA in economics from Rutgers. At Arizona I worked primarily with David Schmidtz and Jerry Gaus and wrote a dissertation exploring what our responses to accidents can teach us about the nature of moral responsibility and the foundations of social cooperation. Prior to graduate school I received my AB (with honors) in Philosophy from Brown University where I also spent several years as a research assistant for John Tomasi.
My wife, Brennan McDavid, is also an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Chapman.
Outside of work I am avid sports fan, especially of the Washington Nationals, and a father to two adorable daughters. When I'm not busy chasing the girls around, my free time is spent sailing competitively. Recently my sailing has primarily been split between traveling to race J-24's and sailing on a variety of boats locally in Long Beach. Prior to coming to Southern California I spent lots of time racing boats in Melbourne, Australia, Newport RI, Annapolis MD, and Barnegat Bay, NJ. Highlights of my sailing career include winning the Ensign National Championship in 2013 as the tactician on Buddy Brown's boat Lorelei, a 10th place finish at the 2022 J24 World Championship with Ted Wiedeke's Caramella, and sailing as the bowman on the 12 metre Kookaburra.
My wife, Brennan McDavid, is also an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Chapman.
Outside of work I am avid sports fan, especially of the Washington Nationals, and a father to two adorable daughters. When I'm not busy chasing the girls around, my free time is spent sailing competitively. Recently my sailing has primarily been split between traveling to race J-24's and sailing on a variety of boats locally in Long Beach. Prior to coming to Southern California I spent lots of time racing boats in Melbourne, Australia, Newport RI, Annapolis MD, and Barnegat Bay, NJ. Highlights of my sailing career include winning the Ensign National Championship in 2013 as the tactician on Buddy Brown's boat Lorelei, a 10th place finish at the 2022 J24 World Championship with Ted Wiedeke's Caramella, and sailing as the bowman on the 12 metre Kookaburra.
