I’m playing with the idea that the contents of any experience (regardless of whether it’s based in perceiving, imagining, or reasoning) must show up as real or unreal. Moreover, contents will occupy either mode spontaneously, prior to deliberation. For example, when I talk to you about San Fransisco, this shows up as part of reality. In contrast, when I talk to you about the Shire, this shows up as make-believe.

I’m particularly interested in the relationship between this experiential sense of reality and our epistemic sense of truth. The two seem to be independent and yet intimately related. A child, for example, may believe that there is no monster under their bed, and yet cannot fall asleep; their emotion and behavior betray that what’s experientially real to them is contrary to their belief.

Buddhist philosophy, aesthetics, and the history of science (especially of psychology and psychiatry) are also important to me. I have side projects on epistemological issues pertaining to placebo effects and social media use. Feel free to email about any of these things!