I am Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Rutgers Newark, where I have taught since 2004. I received my Ph.D in Philosophy at Rutgers University in 2002 after being an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina. I am also a member of the Graduate Faculty in the Psychology Department at Rutgers-Newark and of the Graduate Faculty in the Philosophy Department at Rutgers, New Brunswick. I earned a Laurea from the University of Pisa and then did postgraduate work at Oxford University before entering the Ph.D program at Rutgers.

My intellectual interests are at the intersection of early modern and contemporary theories of mind. I specialize in 17^th and 18^th century theories of cognition and concept acquisition. My work has focused on arguments for and against conceptual nativism both in the works of Descartes and Locke and in the work of contemporary philosophers and cognitive scientists. I am also interested in Descartes’ theory of concepts. In particular, his views on sensory representation. I have active interests in contemporary theories of concepts and consciousness both in philosophy, developmental psychology and cognitive science. For details see my Research Page and Teaching Page.

In addition to my research and teaching, I am the co-founder and co-director (with Enrique Chávez-Arvizo) of the NY/NJ Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy, a workshop that promotes presentation and discussion of different topics in early modern philosophy and science.