I teach Philosophy at MIT, where I work on ethics and related questions about human agency and human knowledge. I am the author of Practical Knowledge, Reasons without Rationalism, and Knowing Right From Wrong.
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My last book, Life is Hard, combined philosophy with personal essay, with chapters on infirmity, loneliness, grief, failure, injustice, absurdity – and hope. It was reviewed by the Economist, the New York Times, the Sunday Times, and the Guardian, among others, and was selected as one of the best books of 2022 by the New Yorker and the Economist.

Before that, I published a self-help book, Midlife: A Philosophical Guide. My work on midlife has been featured in Aeon, Hi-Phi Nation, Five Books, and the New York Times. I've also written about stand-up comedy, H. P. Lovecraft, baseball, free will, and self-help.

​I am working on a new book about humour as a guide to life.

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