I have been interested in the nature and meaning of work since my first substantial job as a claims (loss) adjuster for Chubb & Son, Inc. I worked in insurance for a number of years, having had the benefit of experiencing how values, expectations, and practices were different at three major companies in the United States. But more eye-opening were the ethical and philosophical implications of negligence and liability.

When I returned to academia, I researched a PhD in the philosophy work, which was published in 2009 under the title Heidegger, Work, and Being. Its aim was to offer an account of work that was not chiefly framed by its necessity, and I drew on arguments from Aristotle, Martin Heidegger, and Paul Ricoeur to offer an account of work as metaphorical in nature and as playing a significant role in mutual recognition.

More recent research related to work involves my investigation of how our conception of land has become impoverished and how its conceptual reconsideration can lead towards a transformation of economic practice. In short, I argue for a reconception of land according to its substantial role of providing the conditions for the possibility of human existence (not in a natural sense but an existential/ontological one). I correlate this analysis to economic practice — namely, how land demonstrates its substantial role by way of being a distinct factor of production whose value often results in an unearned increment. I conclude that this increment (following certain economists) is therefore a good candidate for public revenue. This research has been published under the title Land and the Given Economy.

I am currently looking into the concept of ‘meaningful work’ and how in fact we can say work produces meaning beyond assumptions typically made in the general literature. I have also published work-related articles on Aristotle and use-value, the existential nature of liability insurance, and whether or not market exchange can be ethical.

More details about my professional career can be found here. Other than that, I hold very seriously to the idea of a work-life balance. I used to be a keen rock climber but am not very much a keen windsurfer — ever hoping for the perfect storm!