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.

Alexander Boeglin arb374@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 also work as a Pronunciation Tutor at Cornell’s English Language Support Office (ELSO). 

Bobbi is a PhD candidate at Cornell University and a part-time faculty member 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 research lies at an intersection in feminism, ethics, moral psychology, and philosophy of disability, as she aims to distinguish gaslighting as a particularly ableist and objectifying phenomenon. Her other philosophical interests range from a variety of applied ethics to ancient philosophy to contemporary metaphysics. Is there a method to the madness? Who knows!

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, cosmology, and biology. Other  areas of  interest are epistemology and feminist philosophy. 

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

Erin is a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell with a research focus in social and political philosophy, and Kant’s practical philosophy. She joined the department in 2016, after receiving her B.A. in philosophy from UCLA. Her dissertation focuses on Kant’s legal system, especially his views on natural rights and private property. In addition to Cornell, Erin was able to work as a visiting scholar at the Goethe University in Frankfurt from 2020-2021 on a grant from DAAD.

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.

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

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

I’m a PhD candidate in philosophy. I’m from Taiwan. I’m interested in epistemology and philosophy of mind. My dissertation is on self-knowledge. I develop a transparency account of our access to our experiences, explore the implications of shared consciousness for the self-other asymmetry, and discuss the epistemic role of the mineness of experience.

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.

Timothy M. Kwiatek joined the Sage School of Philosophy in 2015. Before that he received a B.A. in Philosophy from UNC-Chapel Hill. He is currently a PhD candidate working on ethics and moral psychology. His dissertation focuses on praise, blame and moral emotions, especially anger and compassion. His teaching centers around Buddhist philosophy. He likes chess, Russian literature and punk.

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, studying questions from what is a human right to why states have a right against outside intervention. Outside of philosophy, Danielle loves cooking, walking, and spending time with her husband and son.

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 a third-year doctoral student. 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 third 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. 

Zoey K. Payne zkp2@cornell.edu

Zoey 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. Zoey’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).

I am a 7th year 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 teach rock and ice climbing for Cornell Outdoor Education). I am also 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.

I am a third-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 second-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 in relation to questions about agency, our emotions, and social categories. 

Alejandro joined the Sage School in 2017. He received his B.A. and M.A in Philosophy from the Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, Colombia. His main research lies at the intersections of epistemology, philosophy of language, and action theory. In particular, he is interested in exploring how the instrumental rationality of cooperative action can serve as a single explanatory fulcrum to answer diverse epistemic, linguistic, and ethical questions about the normativity of our communicative practices. Other interests of his include Latin American philosophy, social and political philosophy, and interdisciplinary work in cognitive science.

Bianca Waked (she/they) is an Oral Deaf Ph.D. Candidate at Cornell University's Sage School of Philosophy, as well as the founder and program director of the APA-sponsored diversity institute “PLUSS: Philosophy of Law Undergraduate Summer School).” She holds a B.A. with First-Class Honors from McGill University and an M.A. from McMaster University. She is writing a dissertation on civil disobedience at the intersection of the philosophy of law, language, and critical race philosophy. She also maintains secondary interests in Arab feminist philosophies, the philosophy of disabilities, the philosophy of art, and the history of analytic philosophy. She is a current Telluride Scholar, recipient of the Mike Yarrow Adventurous Education Award, and the George Lincoln Burr Award. Her research is generously funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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.

Bill Watson is a PhD Candidate at Cornell University and a Climenko Fellow at Harvard Law School. His research focuses on legal interpretation and legal philosophy, especially statutory interpretation, precedent and analogical reasoning, and the nature of law. He received his BA from the University of Saint Thomas and his JD from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a Book Review & Essays Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review. Following law school, Bill clerked for Judge Jay Bybee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and practiced commercial litigation with Kirkland & Ellis. He is writing a dissertation on legal agreement and disagreement—on why we agree on the law as often as we do, why we sometimes disagree, and what this can teach us about the nature of law.

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 received her B.A. in Philosophy (high honors) from the College of William and Mary in 2018 (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). 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.

Brianna Zgurich joined the Sage School of Philosophy in 2017 from Northern Arizona University. They are finishing up a dissertation on spirited motivations in Platonic dialogues and recently taught a first-year writing seminar on Ancient Greek and Asian Philosophy. Due to a desire to support students and faculty without the research workload and pressures of tenure, they have decided to pursue what are referred to as “alt-ac” careers, that is a career other than one in academia. They plan instead to pursue jobs at universities in faculty/graduate student development, student services/advising, and/or at learning centers—roles which they fell in love with as a fellow at the Center for Teaching Innovation. They think staying in Ithaca would be a dream. 

Lyu Zhou   lz446@cornell.edu

Lyu does not know much about anything. He joined the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University to (try to) know a bit more with the help of the sages. Now he is studying phenomenal time and consciousness with the hope of being less ignorant about (a) the nature of the mind and the self, and (b) the possibility of human free will and moral responsibility. He is fond of reading the history of philosophy: Kant, Augustine, Plato, and Weil are his intellectual heroes. He is very grateful that his advisor and colleagues are so kind and patient with his silly annoying questions.

Guyu Zhu gz238@cornell.edu

Hi there, I’m Guyu! I’m currently a first-year student in the program, but it took me a while to find my way to Cornell. I have a BA in Philosophy and Mathematics (with a minor in German) from Bates College. Then I did a MA in Humanities at the University of Chicago. Before coming to Cornell, I also did two years of graduate work in philosophy at Florida State University. I have quite diverse philosophical interests but they all, to some extent, connect to the notion of agency. Officially, I list my interests as moral psychology, philosophy of action, metaethics, and epistemology, but we shall see… I don’t do much outside of philosophy. I do a lot of cooking and baking. I listen to symphonic metal music. Perhaps I should pick up skateboarding again in the near future… 

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.