Scholarship

Pursuit of Practical Wisdom

My research integrates the history of ethics and moral theology with modern ethical theory and moral psychology. The aim is to uncover truths about objective value and how we ought to live. Whether investigating Platonic virtue, Sidgwickian epistemology, or Stoic piety, my work is driven by a belief that the purpose of scholarship is not mere erudition but practical wisdom.

Books

Plato's Pragmatism: Rethinking the Relationship Between Ethics and Epistemology (Routledge, 2021)

Co-authored with Nich Baima, this book offers the first comprehensive pragmatist interpretation of Plato. On our reading, the ultimate Platonic goal is not truth and knowledge but rather moral virtue. We argue that pursuit of this goal involves cultivating certain ethical commitments that often require violating epistemic norms.

Baima and Paytas ground their interpretations so firmly and circumspectly in the text that a reader can lose sight of the radical nature of their conclusions.... Their strong textual case should unsettle anyone who thinks Plato prizes the truth and epistemic virtue above all, not only in one’s interactions with others, but also with oneself.

-Emily Austin
Australasian Journal of Philosophy

Kantian and Sidgwickian Ethics: The Cosmos of Duty Above and the Moral Law Within (Routledge, 2020)

Co-edited with Tim Henning, this volume explores points of agreement and disagreement in the works of the two greatest moral philosophers since the ancient Greeks. With contributions from renowned scholars such as Roger Crisp and Paul Guyer, topics addressed include moral epistemology, free will, and moral theology.

Special Issues

Ancient Philosophy Today: DIALOGOI
Ancient Philosophy and the Ethics of Belief (2025)

Co-edited with Nich Baima, this special issue explores the ethics of belief by bringing ancient philosophy into dialogue with contemporary debates about the relationship between epistemic and practical norms.

Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
De-moralizing Ethics (2024)

Co-edited with Roger Crisp and Rach Cosker-Rowland, this special issue examines the project of de-moralizing ethics by questioning whether moral concepts such as obligation, wrongness, and blame should play a central role in ethical theory.