Current Graduate Students

Migdalia joined the Sage School of Philosophy in 2021. She received her MA in Philosophy (magna cum laude) from Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. Her main areas of interest are moral psychology, history and philosophy of psychology, and social epistemology. Other interests include Latin American philosophy with special emphasis on the history of Latin American feminism.

My areas of interest are in the philosophy of mind and epistemology, especially through the lens of cognitive sciences. My work is currently focused on the nature of perception, attention, introspection, & imagination and how their link might bear significant consequences for discussions about mental representation, consciousness, and epistemic rationality. Other topics of interest include social philosophy (psychiatry, disability, and oppression) and the history of philosophy (Indian philosophy and early Modern philosophy). Outside philosophy, I’m a musician and a sporadic filmmaker. 

Alexander Boeglin arb374@cornell.edu

Ryan Bollier

rb923@cornell.edu

Maria Camila Castro Maldonado mcc294@cornell.edu

I joined the Sage School in 2022. My interests include social and political philosophy, ethics, epistemology, and the history of philosophy. I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in philosophy from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. I am a current Telluride Scholar, and I also work as a Pronunciation Tutor at Cornell’s English Language Support Office (ELSO).

Bobbi (she/her) is a PhD candidate at Cornell University and a part-time lecturer at Colgate University. She joined the philosophy department at Cornell in 2018, directly after she completed a BA with high honors at the University of Florida. Her dissertation has a foothold in moral psychology and a variety of applied ethics–business ethics, philosophy of education, bioethics, and philosophy of disability–as she writes about the responsibility practices in professional relationships. When not philosophizing, she is relaxing with her two cats, Theory and Practice.

Sara joined the Sage School in 2020. She received her MA in Philosophy (magna cum laude) from University of Florence, Italy. Her research interests primarily lie in ancient philosophy. She is mostly interested in Plato's natural philosophy, especially his physics and cosmology. Other areas of interest are ancient epistemology and feminist philosophy.

I am a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy. My research interests are primarily in the philosophy of mind and metaphysics.

Adelle Goldenberg cag328@cornell.edu

Adelle Goldenberg joined the Sage School of Philosophy as a PhD student in 2022. Her research focuses primarily on feminist philosophy and legal theory. Some of her recent projects include: an analysis of how to approach tensions between free exercise claims and human rights, what the evolution of Title IX can teach us about making the law gender-neutral, and the impacts of trauma on personal identity. She holds an A.B. in Philosophy from Harvard College, and an M.Phil. in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies from Cambridge University.

Vikram joined the Sage School in 2019. His research interests primarily lie in ancient philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics. His dissertation explores the metaphysics and epistemology of the seven liberal arts in the works of Augustine. He is also working on a project on Stoic epistemology and semantics in Epictetus. Aside from ancient philosophy, he has an interest in contemporary philosophy of language, metaphysics, epistemology, and Wittgenstein.

"Henry" Ying Kit Kwok

yk732@cornell.edu

Danielle Limbaugh is a PhD Candidate at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. Prior to starting her PhD, Danielle obtained her JD from the University at Buffalo. Danielle’s main area of research is in human rights. Outside of philosophy, Danielle loves cooking, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two sons.

"Steph" Xiaoyi Lu

xl946@cornell.edu

I am a PhD. Candidate in the Sage School of Philosophy. My research interests are in Cognitive Science, Language and Logic. And I have some related interests in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of mathematics.   

I joined the Sage School of Philosophy as a Ph.D. student in the fall of 2022. I received my Bachelor of Law degree (magna cum laude) from Bar-Ilan University in Israel in 2013. Following law school, I worked for several years as a lawyer in the public and private sectors, dealing mainly with constitutional law, commercial law, and human rights. During this period, I discovered my desire for philosophy and decided to pursue philosophical studies at the highest level possible. My research interests are mainly moral psychology, philosophy of emotion, and the philosophy of law. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy live music concerts, hiking, and playing tennis. 

I joined Cornell in 2020 and am currently on a leave of absence for 2023-24. Before Cornell I received my master’s in philosophy from Northern Illinois University and my bachelor’s in journalism and philosophy from Bowling Green State University. My research interests are mostly in moral psychology and empirically oriented normative philosophy generally. Currently I’m working on a project arguing that moral considerations seep into harm judgements and how that impacts philosophical theories of harm. Some other topics I’m interested in are parasocial relationships, the recalcitrance of caring about conventional beauty, and the many ways that employees are wronged by their employers. Outside of philosophy I play disc golf, enjoy cinema and museum art, and listen to a lot of ASMR. Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in my harm project or have a mutual philosophical interest. I’m always able to make time to talk philosophy.

I’m a fourth-year graduate student at Cornell. My philosophical interests are in normative ethics and moral psychology. I’m particularly interested in the reactive attitudes of gratitude and resentment, and their place in our interpersonal relationships. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy running, music, playing chess, and hanging out with my cat, Arienette. 

Z.K. Payne zkp2@cornell.edu

Z.K. (she/they) joined the Sage School of Philosophy as a PhD student in the fall of 2022. After receiving her BA in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2018, she worked as a research coordinator in the Psychology department at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Z.K.'s philosophical interests are extensive and evolving, but she is currently most interested in epistemology, ethics, and feminist theory. Additionally, she is interested in Buddhist philosophy and hopes that she may bring ancient insights to bear on contemporary questions. 

Ben is a PhD candidate in the Sage School of Philosophy.

Lanxin joined the Sage School of Philosophy in 2021 after earning a B.A. in Humanities from NYU Shanghai. She is mainly interested in 19th and 20th century European philosophy. Aside from philosophy, she enjoys being around her cat, reading Russian literature, and learning new languages (although not very good at it).

Arundhati Singh

as3749@cornell.edu

My primary area of interest is ancient philosophy, particularly Plato. I also have a strong interest in economic and political theory, as well as the philosophy of language. 

I spend time with the ancients because they had then the same questions I have now – about our relationship with the world around us, about the purpose of life and the function of a good political society, about the nature of existence and reality and knowledge; and they provide, if not satisfactory answers, then at least the right way to frame the question. So far, the themes I have written about include immortality, self-sufficiency, eros, the (supposed) self-predication problem in Plato, friendship, fascism, and democracy.

I am a PhD candidate in philosophy. Before studying at Cornell, I gained an MSc and an (undergraduate) MA from the University of Glasgow. I work in ethics, very broadly construed. My primary research project concerns the phenomenon of intractable moral disagreement––both as it raises theoretical questions for metaethical views, and as it raises practical issues for our interpersonal and political lives. I also work in philosophy of education, particularly on issues in inclusive pedagogy. Outside of philosophy I like to climb, hike, and mountain bike (I have taught rock and ice climbing for Cornell Outdoor Education). I also have been a graduate resident fellow in Cornell’s collegiate dorm system. 

Anni Sun as3293@cornell.edu

Anni joined the Sage School of Philosophy as a PhD student in 2022. She works primarily in Ethics and Value Theory. Currently much of her research focuses on moral psychology and the reactive attitudes. Before coming to Cornell, she received her B.A. at Peking University in China.

Mengqun Sun

ms3728@cornell.edu

I am a fourth-year graduate student. Although I have, indeed, very broad interests in philosophy, I try to focus on questions surrounding public reason. I find those questions interesting because: first, thinking about them gratifies my desire for a practical approach to philosophy, and second, they are located at the intersection of some of my main interests: political philosophy, social epistemology, moral psychology, and philosophy of language. Before coming to Cornell I lived an eventful life.

I’m a third-year PhD student in philosophy. Before coming to Cornell, I completed an MA in philosophy at Georgia State University. I’m interested in the metaphysics and epistemology of modality, especially as they relate to questions about moral agency and our emotions, and in feminist philosophy.

Bianca Waked (she/they) is an Oral Deaf Ph.D. Candidate at Cornell University's Sage School of Philosophy currently writing a dissertation on ableism and modal oppression. Her areas of research include Deaf philosophy, philosophy of disability, feminist philosophy (with a particular focus on Arab Islamic feminisms), and the philosophy of language. Areas of interests include the history of analytic philosophy, philosophy of art, and the philosophy of law. 

In 2019, she founded the APA-Sponsored Diversity Institute “PLUSS” and currently serves as the program director. She is a former Telluride Scholar,  recipient of both the Mike Yarrow Adventurous Education Award and the George Lincoln Burr Award, and her research has been generously funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She holds a B.A. from McGill University (First-Class Honors) and an M.A. from McMaster University.

I joined the Sage School of Philosophy in 2021. I studied philosophy and classics at NYU as an undergrad. My main interest is Greek philosophy. I’m currently working on Theaetetus.

Geoffrey joined the Sage School in 2021 after transferring from Tulane University. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Hunter College in 2011 and took some time off to travel the world and save sick and injured penguins before getting his Master’s Degree in Philosophy in 2016 from Claremont Graduate University. Geoffrey’s research interests are primarily in metaethics, moral psychology and normative ethics. He is currently working on a dissertation on what it means for something to be morally unthinkable.

Hannah joined the Sage School in 2018. She is currently in Germany on a DAAD research fellowship at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, working on a project on Karl Jaspers. Hannah received her B.A. in Philosophy from the College of William and Mary in 2018. Her PhD research focuses on 19th and 20th century European philosophy, especially Existentialism, and normative ethics. Her dissertation sketches an existentialist theory of responsibility and examines how such a theory can address contemporary moral and political issues, including racial privilege and gender dynamics. Other interests include feminist philosophy, theories of forgiveness, and concepts of violence.

Visit Hannah’s website at https://hannahwincklerolick.com/!

Guyu Zhu gz238@cornell.edu

I am Guyu (he/him). I am currently a second-year PhD student. My interests are in metaethics, moral psychology, and philosophy of action. Broadly speaking, I am interested in agency and normativity in general. I was exploring expressivism and deontic modals this past summer. I did my BA in philosophy and math at Bates College. Before coming to Cornell, I also did graduate work in philosophy at the University of Chicago and Florida State University. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy cooking a lot.

Peggy joined the Sage School in 2018 after receiving her B.A. in philosophy from Wellesley College. Her research is primarily in ancient philosophy. Her dissertation seeks to answer questions about ethics, moral psychology, and epistemology in Plato’s erotic dialogues, including the Symposium and the Phaedrus. Outside her research on Plato, she likes to think about questions in contemporary philosophy of love and their potential connections with ancient theories of eros.