Tristram McPherson Welcome!
 
I'm an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Virginia Tech.

At the broadest level, my research focuses on four philosophical questions about ethics:
  • Is there a correct theory that tells us which actions are right and wrong, and helps to explain why?
  • If so, what is the structure of that theory?
  • How do our ethical commitments and practices fit into our larger conception of how the world works?
  • What is the best way of going about answering the preceding questions?
Curriculum Vitae

(If you have a fetish for CVs,
mine can be found here.)

You can learn more about my research here.
Tristram in Red Rock, Nevada
I hail from Vancouver, Canada, which has left me with weaknesses for karaoke, vegan cuisine, and the martial art aikido. I live with my love (and now domestic partner!) Amy Shuster in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. If you are here because my facebook page is shockingly cryptic, you can learn more about me here.

 

If you would like to get in touch, please drop me an email at:

tristram [at] vt [dot] edu

 

You can also often reach me at my office:

Tristram McPherson
Philosophy Department
229 Major Williams Hall (0126)
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
(540)231-0991

 

What I am Up To:

Having just arrived at Virginia Tech, this Fall is quite busy:

  • I will be heading to the Metaethics Workshop in September, and the Virginia Philosophical Association meeting in October. At the VPA, I will be presenting my paper "Explaining Practical Normativity."
  • I will also be working on my papers
    "What is at Stake in Debates Between Normative Realists?" and
    "Reference Magnets on Normative Twin Earth",
    as well as an entry for the International Encyclopedia of Ethics on Quietism.
  • I am teaching Morality and Justice and Ethical Theory, as well as helping to organize a faculty/grad student reading group in ethics and political philosophy.

In the Spring,

  • I will be presenting "What is at Stake..." in a symposium on normative realism at the Central APA, and a paper TBD at the Alumni Mini-Conference at Simon Fraser University.
  • I will be teaching Bioethics and a grad seminar on Semantics for Normative Realists.
  • However, if all goes well, Amy and I will mostly be nesting with our new child!

The construction of this website was aided by the technical wizardry of Amy Shuster. She is, however, blameless for the aesthetic and all other shortcomings herein.