I received a BA (Honours) in Philosophy and Latin from the University of Alberta, and an MA and PhD in Philosophy from McMaster University. From 1996–2005, I lectured on  legal and moral philosophy at several Canadian universities: York University, McMaster University, Wilfrid Laurier University, and the University of Toronto. In 2005 I was elected a Junior Research Fellow in Legal and Political Philosophy at Churchill College, Cambridge, and from 2006–08 was concurrently a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellow at the Law Faculty of Cambridge University. In 2008 I became a Faculty Tutor at Quest University.

My philosophical interests are eclectic. I was entranced by the activity of philosophy when, as an undergraduate, I developed an interest in contemporary analytical philosophy of mind and Hegel. Soon afterwards I happened across Cicero's speeches against Cataline, a discovery which eventuated in a delight in Latin as well as an enduring interest in the moral and political uses of rhetoric.

After moving to McMaster University to do post-graduate work, I wrote my MA thesis on ontological and evaluative questions regarding music. More recently, I’ve focused on legal and political philosophy. My PhD thesis, supervised by Prof Wilfrid Waluchow, H.L.A. Hart’s final doctoral student, examined the methodological difficulties of analytical legal philosophy. Having settled the methodological issues to my own satisfaction, at least sufficiently to move on to less abstract work, I’ve become more interested in concrete problems in legal philosophy, particularly those which involve law as an aspect of culture. My current primary research project is an explication of the educative function of law, though I’m also pursuing some lines of inquiry on ancient (Greek and Roman) legal theory.

Born in Edmonton, I appreciate very cold weather but do not miss it in the least. After living for three years in the UK I’ve become very fond of gardens, scampi, and port. My pastimes include long-distance motorcycle touring, horse-riding, and listening to music, especially classical music, Chinese opera, and Jamaican music from the 1960s and 1970s.