formal phenomenologydiscrete vs. continuousstate-spaces
Consciousness and Continuity
MIND · METAPHYSICS · MATHEMATICS
Explains what it means to say that an experience is continuous vs. discrete, and argues that introspection leaves open which view is correct.
formal ethicswelfareimpossibility result
The Utility Monster
ETHICS · MATHEMATICS
Develops a new impossibility result connecting population axiologies to welfare axiologies, centered on a puzzle about the utility monster — an individual whose lifetime quantity of welfare goods exceeds that of an entire population of excellent human lives. Shows that denying MONSTROSITY is incompatible with several independently plausible premises, so that any future axiology must in some way be monstrous.
history of sciencestructure vs. essencescience of consciousness
On the Future of Consciousness
MIND · ETHICS · SCIENCE
Sketches a vision for the future of consciousness research by arguing that scientific fields tend to shift from "essence questions" (What is X?) to "structural questions" (How do we model X?), and that consciousness science should follow this arc toward an objective phenomenology.
ways of varyingproperty structureparts & parameters
Dimensions as Quotients
METAPHYSICS · MATHEMATICS
Develops a systematic analysis of the dimension relation — dimensions being ways of varying with respect to a kind — arguing that D is a dimension of F just in case the space of D-values is a quotient of the space of F-values, and identifying a structural duality between the dimension relation and the parthood relation.
analog representationparts principlelocative structure
The Structure of Iconic Representationwith Josh Myers & Gabe Rabin
MIND · REPRESENTATION · LANGUAGE
Develops a structural theory of iconic representation, extending earlier work on analog representation to the broader class of iconic systems including maps, diagrams, and pictorial content.
structure of consciousnessthe light & the roomessence of consciousness
Subjectivity vs. Phenomenal Character
MIND · METAPHYSICS
Uses the metaphor of consciousness as "the lights being on inside" to disentangle two distinct senses of phenomenal consciousness — subjectivity and phenomenal character — and argues that questions about degrees and dimensions of consciousness look very different depending on which sense is at stake.
dimensions vs. parametersaggregationways of varying
The Mark of Multidimensionality
METAPHYSICS · MATHEMATICS · LANGUAGE
Raises a puzzle about why consciousness and physical reality are both multidimensional, and whether the dimensionality of experience stands in any interesting relation to the dimensionality of the physical world.
similarityvector spacespalette problem
Universal Quality-Space
MIND · MATHEMATICS · SCIENCE
Develops a radical view of phenomenal qualities on which every quality has the structure of a distribution over a single high-dimensional vector space, unifying the quality spaces for all sensory modalities.
divergent seriesexpansionismimprecise value
A Puzzle about Hotel Infinity
METAPHYSICS · MATHEMATICS
Develops a new puzzle about Hilbert's Hotel and infinite aggregation, with implications for the metaphysics of infinite sums and the logic of infinity.
artificial consciousnessmultiple realizabilityfunctionalism
Substrate Independencewith Brad Saad
MIND · METAPHYSICS
Examines the thesis that consciousness is substrate neutral — that what matters for consciousness is functional or structural organization rather than the physical stuff that realizes it.
quantitiesproperty structurenegative properties
Zero-Valueswith David Builes
METAPHYSICS · ETHICS
Examines the metaphysics and ethics of zero-values — cases where a quantity takes the value zero — and whether zero-value states are genuinely neutral or carry positive or negative valence.