Robbie Kubala Department of Philosophy Columbia University rkubala@gmail.com 512.964.3210 Research Interests AOS: ethics, aesthetics AOC: moral psychology, American pragmatism, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science Education Columbia University 2011-2018 Ph.D Candidate, Philosophy Dissertation: Reflective Agency: An Essay on Ethical Theory and Deliberation Committee: Philip Kitcher (chair), Michele Moody-Adams, Macalester Bell (Bryn Mawr) Abstract: What role for ethical theory in everyday deliberation? Standardly, agents have an overriding commitment to their favored theory, from which they can derive what to do in any conceivable situation. A more flexible view has it that agents decide based on the norms of their local practices and appeal to theory only when confronted with a problem. Whereas the standard view imposes undesirable psychological burdens by requiring us to reconstruct our motivations in light of theory, the flexible view trusts to our practices until we need to construct novel solutions. The dissertation spells out the latter view with respect to practices of regret, toleration, punishment, and partiality. University of Cambridge, Peterhouse 2010-2011 MPhil, History and Philosophy of Science, First Class University of St Andrews, St Leonard s College 2009-2010 MLitt, Philosophy, with Distinction Boston College, College of Arts and Sciences 2005-2009 BA, Philosophy, summa cum laude Articles Valuing and Believing Valuable 2017 Analysis, Vol. 77, Issue 1: 59-65 Love and Transience in Proust 2016 Philosophy, Vol. 91, Issue 4: 541-57 Philosophy, Literature, and Emotional Engagement: A Response to Nanay 2015 Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 73, Issue 2: 196-200 "1
Dewey on Functional Beauty and the Realm of the Aesthetic 2011 Postgraduate Journal of Aesthetics, Vol. 8, No. 1: 16-25 Reviews & Interviews Review of Rafe McGregor, The Value of Literature 2017 Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 75, Issue 3: 311-4 Review of Alva Noë, Strange Tools 2016 Art Papers, January/February 2016: 64 Beauty, Interpretation, and the Everyday: An Interview with Alexander Nehamas 2012 Postgraduate Journal of Aesthetics, Vol. 9, No. 2: 1-13 Papers In Progress Construction and Reconstruction in Ethical Theory Moral Theory and Moral Unfreedom Grounding Aesthetic Obligations (submitted) Literary Intentionalism: A Shared Interpretive Policy (submitted) A Proustian Account of Practical Reason Academic Awards and Honors 2016 APA/PDC Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs, for Rethink (shared) 2016 Literature Humanities Preceptorship, Columbia University 2016 Contemporary Civilization Preceptorship, Columbia University (declined) 2016 GSAS Teaching Scholars Program, Columbia University (declined) 2015 GSAS Exchange Scholar, Harvard University 2013 Benjamin Wolstein Fellowship Fund, Columbia University 2012 George John Bowdery Memorial Fund in Philosophy, Columbia University 2009 Marshall Scholarship 2009 John Bapst, S.J., Philosophy Medal, for outstanding overall performance in philosophy courses, Boston College 2009 Mary A. and Katherine G. Finneran Commencement Medal, for outstanding success in studies and contribution to the enrichment of college and student life, Boston College 2008 Phi Beta Kappa, Boston College 2007 Peter Gray Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Psychology, Boston College 2006 Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Elizabeth Kensinger, Boston College 2005 Presidential Scholars Program, Boston College Teaching Primary Instructor (Columbia) Masterpieces of Western Literature and Philosophy, 2016-2017, 2017-2018 Philosophy of Literature, 2015 "2
Teaching Assistant (Columbia) Philosophy of Language and Mind (Akeel Bilgrami), 2015 Ethics (Macalester Bell), with two discussion sections, 2014 History of Modern Philosophy (Patricia Kitcher), with discussion section, 2014 Contemporary Moral Problems (Macalester Bell), 2012 and 2013 Introduction to Philosophy (Elliot Paul), 2013 Additional Classes Taught Rethink, for Eric Anthamatten, Prisons and Communities (The New School) Intentional Content, for Akeel Bilgrami, Philosophy of Language and Mind Strawson s Freedom and Resentment, for Macalester Bell, Ethics Hume on Knowledge and Skepticism, for Patricia Kitcher, History of Modern Philosophy Service Co-Organizer, Science, Value, and Pragmatism: A Conference in Honor of Philip Kitcher, Columbia University, February 2017 Literature Humanities Preceptor Interview Committee, January 2017 Referee, British Journal of Aesthetics; Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences; Proceedings of the Association for Core Texts and Courses Co-Founder and Facilitator, Rethink: A Philosophy Community Outreach Program, 2013-2016 Book Review Editor, American Society for Aesthetics Graduate E-Journal, 2012-2016 Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) Representative, Columbia University, 2013-2014 Graduate Student Representative, Columbia University Department of Philosophy, 2013-2014 Co-Organizer, 12 th Annual Columbia-NYU Graduate Conference in Philosophy, April 2012 Presentations Moral Theory and Moral Unfreedom Felician Ethics Conference, October 2017 Fittingness and Value: A Two-Level Theory of (Some) Aesthetic Normativity APA Central Division Meeting, Chicago, February 2018 British Society of Aesthetics Annual Conference, St Anne s College, Oxford, September 2017 "3
Grounding Aesthetic Obligations Aesthetic Normativity Conference, Salt Lake City, May 2017 (comments by Anthony Cross) APA Central Division Meeting, Kansas City, March 2017 (comments by Anna Maria C. Bartsch) American Society for Aesthetics Annual Meeting, Seattle, November 2016 (comments by Elisabeth Schellekens) Student Enculturation in Crime and Punishment Association for Core Texts and Courses Annual Conference, Dallas, April 2017 Two-Level Consequentialism, Regret, and the Reactive Attitudes Joint Session of the Aristotelian Society & the Mind Association, Cardiff, July 2016 International Society for Utilitarian Studies, Lille, July 2016 Highest-Order Consequentialism (with Max Hayward) Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress, Boulder, August 2016 (poster, unable to attend) International Society for Utilitarian Studies, Lille, July 2016 (sole presenter) Kolodny on Partiality MIT Ethics Reading Group, March 2016 The Self-Effacement of Ethical Theory Italian Society for Analytic Philosophy, Sassari, September 2015 (awarded a 250 Young Scholar Prize) Could It Be Worth Thinking About Proust on Love? British Society of Aesthetics Annual Conference, Homerton College, Cambridge, September 2015 Felician Ethics Conference, April 2015 Columbia Journal of Literary Criticism Seminar Series, March 2015 Love s Passion Workshop, University of Hertfordshire, September 2014 Philosophy, Literature, and Emotional Engagement British Society of Aesthetics Annual Conference, St Anne s College, Oxford, September 2014 American Society for Aesthetics Eastern Division Meeting, Philadelphia, March 2014 (comments by Owen Ware) Local Debunking Arguments Summer School on Epistemology and Cognition, University of Groningen, August 2014 (awarded a 300 Scholarship) Judging Valuable Felician Ethics Conference, April 2014 Understanding Value, University of Sheffield, July 2013 "4
Endorsing the Causes of Love Felician Ethics Conference, April 2013 Columbia Graduate Work-In-Progress Seminar, April 2013 New Jersey Regional Philosophical Association, November 2012 (comments by George Abaunza) Heidegger and Representationalism Open Minds VI: Philosophy Postgraduate Conference, University of Manchester, June 2011 Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle, Cork, March 2011 Dewey on Functional Beauty American Society for Aesthetics Eastern Division Meeting, Philadelphia, April 2011 (comments by Remei Capdevila-Werning) The End of Wandering: Don Quixote in the Western Tradition Boston College Graduate Conference on Romance Studies, Boston, April 2009 Cognitivism and Embodiment Hochschule für Philosophie, Munich, July 2008 The Vision of the Good: A Platonic Interpretation of Virginia Woolf s To the Lighthouse New England Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, Providence, April 2006 Comments On Jakub Stejskal, On Appreciation as an Archaeological Heuristic American Society for Aesthetics Annual Meeting, New Orleans, November 2017 On Alexey Aliyev, What is a Novel? APA Eastern Division Meeting, Baltimore, January 2017 On Kenneth Walden, The Autonomist Argument for Ethicism American Society for Aesthetics Annual Meeting, Savannah, November 2015 On James Harold, Two Aims in Artistic Interpretation American Society for Aesthetics Annual Meeting, San Antonio, October 2014 On Deacon Newhouse, Defending the Body by Disrobing Tradition American Society for Aesthetics Annual Meeting, San Diego, October 2013 On Kristina Reardon, Hope in a Third Voice Amidst The Waves New England Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, Providence, April 2007 "5
Professional Membership American Philosophical Association American Society for Aesthetics Languages English native German intermediate reading Ancient Greek intermediate reading French elementary reading Spanish intermediate reading and conversational Graduate Coursework (* indicates audited) All coursework is at Columbia unless otherwise noted. Relationships and Responsibilities: Partiality and Moral Thought (Macalester Bell) Emotions and Value (Macalester Bell) *Naturalistic Ethics (Philip Kitcher) *Theory and Anti-Theory in Ethics (Michele Moody-Adams) *Moral Intuitions (Matthew Liao, NYU) *The British Moralists (Tamar Schapiro, MIT) *Kant s Ethical Theory (Christine Korsgaard, Harvard) Aesthetics (Berys Gaut, St Andrews) *Aesthetics: Historical Survey (Lydia Goehr) *Aesthetics (Robert Hopkins, NYU) Pragmatism (Philip Kitcher) Metaethics (Katja Vogt) Persons (Carol Rovane) Thomas Nagel s The View from Nowhere (Adrian Haddock, Stirling) Topics in Ancient Philosophy: Relativism and Skepticism (Katja Vogt) Ancient Philosophy: Plato s Theaetetus and Sophist (Sarah Broadie, St Andrews) Perception (John Morrison) Rationality and Moral Psychology (Akeel Bilgrami and Jon Elster) Philosophy of Mind (Simon Prosser, St Andrews) *Advanced Topics in Philosophy of Mind (Christopher Peacocke) Symbolic Logic (Achille Varzi) *Probability and Decision Theory (John Collins) References Philip Kitcher John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University psk16@columbia.edu Michele Moody-Adams Joseph Straus Professor of Political Philosophy and Legal Theory, Columbia University moody-adams@columbia.edu "6
Macalester Bell Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bryn Mawr College mcbell@brynmawr.edu Lydia Goehr Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University lg131@columbia.edu Bence Nanay Professor of Philosophy and BOF Research Professor, University of Antwerp Senior Research Associate, Peterhouse, University of Cambridge bn206@cam.ac.uk Julie Crawford (teaching reference) Mark Van Doren Professor of Humanities, Columbia University jc830@columbia.edu "7