Welcome to my website!

I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fresno State University, with a special emphasis on Peace & Nonviolence Studies. Before joining Fresno State, I spent an extended sabbatical at my alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, first as a Visiting Professor at the Philosophy Department, then as Pitt’s inaugural Bhagawan Vasu Puya Swami post-doctoral scholar in Jain Studies, while also being an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ashoka University in Sonipat, Haryana (India). At Ashoka, I also served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and as Department Chair.

Apart from administratively supporting the University, faculty and students through the many challenges posed by the pandemic, my biggest administrative achievements at Ashoka have been to develop, with IT, an automated degree check system for the University, to create a significant number of academic policies (e.g., on Academic Integrity), create a new course code system for the entire University, and, as HoD, to be the driving force behind the creation of two new Interdisciplinary Majors: Psychology and Philosophy (PSYPHI) and Philosophy and Computer Science (PHICS) (which started in Fall 2022).

My philosophical interests are broad. They lie in the intersection of philosophy of mind, epistemology, and philosophy of science, but also include Philosophy of Love and Friendship, Logic, Indian Philosophy (especially Jaina Philosophy and Bhakti), and Moral Psychology, which eventually developed further into an interest in Peace and Nonviolence Studies. I have a background in Indian Studies (I studied Sanskrit and Hindi for 6 years each) and Psychology. I also confess to have a philosopher’s crush on Iris Murdoch.

In my dissertation, I discussed how to best characterize experience, particularly in light of the possibility that experience may be variously affected by background beliefs (for more, see here, you can also download my CV here).

I have a number of research projects that I am working on, including a book project that I hope to make some headway on during my sabbatical, and an edited volume on Reformed Empiricism.

Besides philosophy, I care most about my amazing wife Sabrina, who is a speech and language therapist, and our twin daughters (13 years old). I also love languages and enjoy picking up new ones whenever I get the chance (see here for more on this topic). Furthermore, I am interested in classical music, Jazz, Indian classical music, Āyurveda (traditional Indian medicine) – I even earned a certificate as an Āyurvedic massage therapist. I like squash (both the game and the vegetable), backpacking, hiking, canoeing with the kids, biking, and getting to know new people. Finally, I am a passionate chef with a strong penchant for vegetarian cuisine from all continents.

Questions? Contact me. I am looking forward to hearing from you!