My primary areas of research and teaching include the philosophy of work and labour, social and political philosophy, and applied ethics, especially as it pertains to the future of work and technology.
I am interested in work of all kinds: what it is, what makes it good, and why we need it to live well with others. I have written on the concept of work, the relationship between work and necessity, and work's social benefits; I also like to explore applications of those ideas in the context of debates about the future of work & technology.
I completed my PhD at the University of St. Andrews in 2024, where I was a part of the THE FUTURE OF WORK AND INCOME RESEARCH NETWORK with Alexander X. Douglas and Benjamin Sachs-Cobbe. My doctoral dissertation examined the collective benefits of work and argued for their social value and political significance.
Read about my dissertation here.
More about my book and other public impact publications can be found here. Find my full CV - with publication list - here.
Books
Working For Each Other: A Philosophical Account Of The Need For Work (2026)
Columbia University Press / Edinburgh University Press
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Conceptualising Good Work As Social Work (Under Review, 2026), Journal Of Social Philosophy.
To Do What One Must: Necessity In Deranty’s Case For Work (Forthcoming 2027), International Journal Of Philosophy Of Work And Idleness, Special Edition: Discussion Forum On J.P. Deranty’s The Case For Work.
A Different Dream of Labour: Review of Henry At Work: Thoreau on Making a Living (Kaag and van Belle 2025) (2024), The Philosopher, 112:1 101-106.
CAREER LADDERS AND RAT RACES: HOW METAPHORS OF WORK WORK
with Angela O’Sullivan
The Future of Work and Income Capstone Conference
Future of Work and Income Research Network (FWIRN), University of St Andrews
12-14 December 2023
THE ETHICS OF THE FUTURE OF WORK
The World Bank
21 October 2022
WHY WE CAN’T HAVE IT ALL WHEN IT COMES TO THE FUTURE OF WORK
Department of Work and Pensions, Scottish Government
28 June 2022
The Work Foundation
15 June 2022
JUSTICE AND THE COLLECTIVE GOODS OF WORK
Labour Justice and the Transformation of Work Conference
UPF Law and Philosophy Research Group
24 July 2021
WHAT’S THE POINT OF ‘WORK’, ANYWAY? A FUNCTION-FIRST ACCOUNT OF THE CONCEPT OF WORK
with Angela O’Sullivan
Society of Applied Philosophy (SAP) Annual Conference
2-4 July 2021
BASIC INCOME AND THE COLLECTIVE GOODS OF WORK
The Ethics of UBI in a Changing Economy Conference
The Department of Political Economy, King’s College London
23 April 2021
BASIC INCOME AND THE BENEFITS OF WORK
Universal Basic Income and The Meaning of Work Conference
Future of Work and Income Research Network, University of St Andrews
25-26 February 2021
WORK AND PLAY
10th Meetings on Ethics and Political Philosophy
Centre for Ethics, Politics and Society (CEPS), University of Minho
13-15 June 2019
THE ROLE OF WORK IN EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy and Education: Exploring Their Interaction and Dynamic Relationship Conference
The Department of Philosophy and the Centre for Knowledge and Society (CEKAS), University of Aberdeen
1 May 2019