BRIAN SCOTT BALLARD

I'm an assistant professor of philosophy at Concordia University in Irvine. This Fall, I'm a visiting scholar at Princeton.

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I specialize in mind, epistemology, and value theory (including ethics and aesthetics).

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At Princeton this fall, I am thinking about hope as an aspect of solidarity with sufferers.

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I'm writing a book on the value of historical objects, the meaning of life, and the spiritual dimensions of engaging with nature

(The World as Relic, Routledge, 2025).​

 

Beyond this, my research is in four areas:

 

• Emotional experience: its epistemic value and representational content

• Extrinsic final value (especially relics)

• Moral status (human and AI)

• The ways God's existence would or would not make our lives go better​

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I earned my PhD from the University of Pittsburgh under Edouard Machery, John McDowell, Karl Schafer, Jim Woodward, and Crispin Wright. Before that, I earned my MA from NYU under David Velleman.