Surprise

Surprises are important in our everyday lives as well as in our scientific and philosophical theorizing—in psychology, information theory, cognitive-neuroscience, philosophy of science, and confirmation theory. In joint work with Oded Na’aman, we develop a novel account of surprise according to which something is surprising if and to the extent that it is both unexpected and significant. We illustrate how this account
solves theoretical puzzles.
'What Makes Something Surprising?’ (with Oded Na’aman), Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 105:1 (2022), pp. 195–215.

Politics in Academia

 Debates about political neutrality in academia are often framed in absolutist terms: universities and professors are said to be either morally required to remain neutral or morally required to take political stands. I argue that both positions are mistaken. Focusing primarily on professors’ political speech in institutional roles—especially in the classroom—I show that the most prominent absolutist arguments for and against neutrality fail. The ethics of political expression in academic contexts is therefore more complex and context‑dependent than standard discussions suggest.