Stevens Institute of Technology
EMPLOYMENT
2021 – present | Assistant Professor, Intelligence Community Fellow, College of Arts and Letters, Stevens Institute of Technology
2020 –2021 | Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, Carnegie Mellon University
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Philosophy, Florida State University, 2020
Dissertation: “Reflective Reasoning For Real People” [Video abstract]
GradCert, Preparing Future Professionals, Florida State University, 2019
M.A., Philosophy, University of Colorado Boulder, 2014
Thesis: “Intuitive and Reflective Responses in Philosophy” (Advisor: Michael Huemer)
GradCert, Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, 2013
B.A., Philosophy, Palm Beach Atlantic University, 2009
Thesis: “Persons and Their Unique Spatio-temporal Vantage Points” (Advisor: Craig Hanson)
NCAA Division II Cross Country Team
SPECIALIZATION & COMPETENCE
Specializations | Cognitive Science, Research Methods, Cognitive and Social Psychology, Experimental Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science
Competence | Logic, History of Science, Metaphysics, Modern Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
SKILLS
Data Analysis | RStudio (primary), Jamovi (secondary), SPSS (as needed)
Methods | Experiments (in-person and online, individual and interactive—e.g., with oTree), Think Aloud Protocol Analysis (in-person and online), Text annotation and analysis, Surveys
Coding | R (primary), Python (as needed), Unix (as needed), HTML (as needed), CSS (as needed)
Tools | mTurk, CloudResearch, Prolific, Sona, Qualtrics, Phonic.ai, Voiceform
Web CMS | WordPress (primary), Google Sites (for no-budget projects)
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2022 | “Great Minds Do Not Think Alike: Philosophers’ Views Predicted By Reflection, Education, Personality, And Other Demographic Differences”. Review of Philosophy & Psychology. DOI: 10.1007/s13164-022-00628-y [Preprint] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
2022 | with Morgan Thompson. “Testing for Implicit Bias: Values, Psychometrics, and Science Communication”. WIRES Cognitive Science. DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1612 [Preprint] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
2022 | “Bounded Reflectivism & Epistemic identity”. Metaphilosophy. DOI: 10.1111/meta.12534 [Preprint] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
2021 | “Reflective Reasoning & Philosophy”. Philosophy Compass. DOI: 10.1111/phc3.12786 [Preprint] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
2021 | with Michał Białek. “Your Health vs. My Liberties: Philosophical beliefs dominated reflection and identifiable victim effects when predicting public health recommendation compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Cognition. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104649 [OSF] [Preprint] [Audiopaper] [Video abstract] [Altmetric]
2021 | with John Schwenkler, Enoch Lambert, and Matthew Taylor. “One — but Not the Same” Philosophical Studies. DOI: 10.1007/s11098-021-01739-5 [OSF] [Preprint] [Altmetric]
2021 | “On Second Thought, Libet-style Unreflective Intentions May Be Compatible With Free Will”. Logoi. revistasenlinea.saber.ucab.edu.ve/…/logoi/…/5025 [Preprint] [Audiopaper]
2021 | “Online Conferences: Some History, Methods, and Benefits”. In Right Research: Modelling Sustainable Research Practices in the Anthropocene (Open Book Publishers). DOI: 10.11647/obp.0213.28 [OSF] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
2020 | “A Causal Network Account of Ill-being: Depression and digital wellbeing”. In Burr, C. & Floridi, : (Eds.) Ethics of Digital Well-Being: A Multidisciplinary Approach. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-50585-1_11 [Preprint] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
2019 | with Paul Conway. “Not All Who Ponder Count Costs: Arithmetic Reflection Predicts Utilitarian Tendencies, but Logical Reflection Predicts both Deontological and Utilitarian Tendencies”. Cognition. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.06.007 [OSF] [Preprint] [Preprint + data + scripts] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
2019 | “What We Can (And Can’t) Infer About Implicit Bias From Debiasing Experiments”. Synthese. DOI: 10.1007/s11229-019-02128-6 [Preprint] [Audiopaper] [Altmetric]
PUBLICATIONS SUPPORTED (e.g., as Analyst, Forecaster)
2022 | Delios, A., Wu, T., Tan, H., Wang, Y., Viganola, D., Dreber, A., Johannesson, M., Pfeiffer, T., & Uhlmann, E.L. Examining the context sensitivity of research findings from archival data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(30), e2120377119. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120377119.
2020 | Tierney, W., Hardy, J. H., Ebersole, C. R., Leavitt, K., Viganola, D., Clemente, E. G., Gordon, M., Dreber, A., Johannesson, M., Pfeiffer, T., & Uhlmann, E. L. (2020). Creative destruction in science. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 161, 291–309. DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.07.002.
MANUSCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW
with Miroslav Sirota, Gabriella Gongora, and Brianna Joseph. “Tell Us What You Really Think: A think-aloud protocol analysis of the verbal Cognitive Reflection Test”. [Pre-review preprint]
with Samantha Wakil and Jack Justus. “[Experiments On ‘Simplest’ Explanations and Base Rate Neglect]”.
“Explicating The Concept of Reflection”.
“All Measures Are Not Created Equal: Reflection, verbal reports, and process dissociation”. (Revisions requested)
with Nathan Biebel. “Forget and Forgive? How excuses impact blame for ordinary forgetfulness”.
MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION
Article | with Simon Cullen and Daniel Oppenheimer. “Map My Words: Closing Partisan Gaps In Policy Evaluation With Argument Maps”.
Article | with Simon Cullen and Philipp Chapkovski. “Experiments In Reflective Equilibrium Using The Socrates Platform”.
Article | with Simon Cullen. “Reflection-Philosophy Order Effects and Correlations: Aggregating and comparing results from mTurk, CloudResearch, Prolific, and undergraduate samples”.
Article | with Simon Cullen and Shamik Dasgupta. “[Essentialism About Nations]”.
Article | with Justin Sytsma. “Reflective Disequilibrium Across Countries and Religions”.
Article | with Justin Sytsma, Jonathan Livengood, and David Yaden “The Psychology of Philosophy, Revisited”.
Article | with Caleb Reynolds and Paul Conway. “Trait reflectiveness and responses to moral dilemmas: A meta-analytic process dissociation approach”.
WORKING PAPERS
“Willpower Science: Conjecture, Confirmation, Crisis, and Causal Networks”.
“Justifying The Inference From Predictive Success To Realism: A Growing Burden” [RG]
“Apparent Intuitions About Coin Tosses: A Reply To Maher and Lange” [RG]
“Do Philosophers Appeal To Intuition? A Computational Corpus Linguistics Approach” [RG]
“Convergence Without Reasoning: Making Sense of Sidgwickian ‘Reflective Persons'” [RG]
“The Roles of Extrinsic & Constitutive Reasons In Cognitive Therapy”
“Cartesian Embodied Conation”
“Aristotle’s Prohairesis In Action”
“Different Never To Have Been: Existence And Non-Existence Are Incommensurable”
“Can A Four-Dimensionalist Evade The Non-identity Problem?”
“The Imperative of Integrating US Regions and Households” [RG]
“Why Rawls Should Be A Cosmopolitan Egalitarian”
“If Vantage Points Are Properties of Persons”
Short Introductions to (Some) Philosophy: A Free eReader
GRANTS
2022 – 2024 | “Religiosity & Reflection Across Cultures”. Massive, pre-registered, cross-cultural replication and extension of research into how reasoning styles predict religiosity. Experimental Philosophy of Religion grants via the John Templeton Foundation. Co-PIs: Steve Stich & Justin Sytsma. ($246,403)
2022 – 2023 | “Conscious Reflection Under Stress: Mitigating distress’s impact on decisions”. Co-PI: Kalina Michalska ($22,287.48)*
2020 – 2023 | “Reducing Belief-Driven Thinking”. Intelligence Community Research Program via US Office of the Director of National Intelligence and US Department of Energy. Advised by Simon Cullen, Ashley Lytle, and Steve Rieber. ($297,000)*
2021 – 2022 | “A Beginner’s Guide to Neural Mechanism”. A free, online, introductory video series for high school students and students majoring in philosophy, neuroscience, and their intersections via the Summer Seminar for Philosophy and Neuroscience. Co-PIs: Fabrizio Calzavarini, Zina Ward, Raphael Gerraty, Shadab Tabatabaeian. ($30,000)
2021 – 2022 | “No Need To Go It Alone: Ecologically Valid Studies of Group Reasoning”. Summer Seminar in Philosophy & Neuroscience (SSNAP). Co-PIs: Daina Crafa, Shadab Tabatabaeian, Austin Baker, Trey Boone. ($8,000).
2021 – 2022 | “Scaling Up Reflection, Discussion, and Decision Making Research with CloudResearch and the Socrates Platform”. Co-PIs: Simon Cullen and Philipp Chapkovski. ($2500)
2019 – 2020 | Adelaide Wilson Fellowship, Florida State University’s Graduate School, ($32,000)
2018 – 2019 | Graduate Student Cross-training Fellowship. Society for Christian Philosophers. John Templeton Foundation. ($32,000)
2014 – 2018| Conference Travel Grants, Department of Philosophy, Florida State University ($2160)
2014 – 2018 | Conference Travel Grants, Congress of Graduate Students, Florida State University ($1700)
2019 | Graduate Student Travel Stipend, American Philosophical Association ($300)
2015 | Conference Travel Grant, Abraham Kuyper Center for Science & Religion, Vrije Universiteit (€200)
2015 | Travel Bursary, Institut De Recherches Cliniques De Montreal ($350)
2015 | Travel Grant, History & Philosophy of Science, Florida State University ($200)
2013 – 2014 | Conference Grants, Department of Philosophy, University of Colorado, ($1250)
2013 | Research Grant, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, ($300)
GRANT APPLICATIONS
Under review | “Talk It Out: Tracing Thinking and Discussion To Understand Real-world Reflective Reasoning”
In. prep. | with John Medaglia. “Conscious Reflection, Metacognition, & Philosophy”.
In prep. | with Edgar Filip Rozycki. “Ritual: Lost in thought or loss of thought?” Multi-year, multi-site study of correlational and causal relationships between culture, reflection, and ritual.
AWARDS
2023 | Winner – Early-Career Joint Neurophilosophy-Talks Competition: (co-presented with Ivano Triggiani) “The posterior alpha rhythm as a railroad switcher for the dorsoventral path”
2022 | Semi-finalist – 2022 ORISE Ignite Off
2022 | Best Poster finalist – Advances in Decision Analysis conference
20201 | Summer Seminar in Neuroscience and Philosophy (SSNAP) Fellowship (Travel, lodging, $1000 honorarium, and potential grant funding—above).
2019 | 1st Place in Poster Presentation Competition – Arts and Humanities Category ($150), Conference of Florida Graduate Schools
2019 | Graduate Student Research and Creativity Award ($1,000), Florida State University Graduate School
2018 | Dissertation Research Grant ($1000), Florida State University Graduate School
2009 | Outstanding Graduate of Philosophy Award, Palm Beach Atlantic University
CONSULTING
2022 | About how to use educational entertainment to educate children about well-being and cognitive science. Renée Crown Wellness Institute
University of Colorado Boulder. PI: Samuel Hubley.
2021 | About how to encourage and measure reflective reasoning for John Templeton Funded grant “Humble Self-reliance in Reasoning and Belief: The Mutually Supportive Relationship Between Epistemic Autonomy and Intellectual Humility”. PIs: James Beebe, Jonathan Matheson, and Joshua Wilt.
2021 | About testing whether philosophy coursework improves critical thinking abilities. Thomas Metcalf. Spring Hill College Philosophy Department.
REFEREED PRESENTATIONS
“Experiments In Reflective Equilibrium Using The Socrates Platform”
2022 | Reflection on intelligent systems (IRIS): towards a cross-disciplinary definition. Univeristy of Stuttgart. Virtual
“How can we overcome cognitive biases?”
2022 | Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Ignite Off! competition. Virtual. [5-minute recording]
“Reflection-Philosophy Order Effects and Correlations: …Comparing Crowd Workers and Undergraduates”
2022 | Advances in Decision Analysis Conference. Arlington (VA).
“Vetting Theoretical Virtues: Parsimony and the Framing Effect”
2021 | Philosophy of Science Association conference. Baltimore.
“Tell Us What You Really Think: A think aloud protocol analysis of the verbal cognitive reflection test”
2022 | Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). (Virtual)
2022 | Society for Judgment and Decision-making (SJDM). (Virtual)
2021 | Cognitive Research Group. University of Surrey. (Virtual)
2021 | Behavioral Research Online (BeOnline). (Virtual)
2021 | Association For Psychological Science. (Virtual)
“Your Health vs. My Liberty: Philosophical beliefs dominated reflection and identifiable victim effects when predicting public health recommendation compliance”
2021 | 1st Conference on the Impacts of Covid-19 (#WPRN21). (Virtual)
2021 | Center for Informed Democracy and Society (IDeaS) Conference. (Virtual)
2021 | Society for Personality and Social Psychology. (Virtual)
2021 | Society for Philosophy and Psychology. (Virtual)
2021 | Georgia Philosophical Society. (Virtual)
2021 | American Psychology Association: Society for Psych. Study of Social Issues program. (Virtual)
“Great Minds Do Not Think Alike: Psychological Factors
Predict Philosophers’ Views”
2021 | Association for Personality Research (ARP). (Vitrual)
2021 | 9th International Conference on Thinking. (Virtual)
2021 | 25th Congress of the German Society for Philosophy. (Virtual)
2020 | Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology. Louisville. (Virtual)
2019 | Florida Philosophical Society Conference. Gainesville.
2019 | Alabama Philosophical Society Conference. Pensacola.
2019 | Conference of Florida Graduate Schools. Miami.
2018 | International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion Conference. Boston.
2015 | Workshop: Explaining Religion. Cognitive Science of Religion and Naturalism. Amsterdam.
2015 | Buffalo Experimental Philosophy Conference. Buffalo.
2013 | 4th Annual Workshop on Experimental Philosophy. Bristol.
“Implicit Bias: Advancing The Debate”
2019 | Eastern APA. New York City.
2017 | 63rd Annual Meeting of the Florida Philosophical Society. Ocala.
2017 | 109th Meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology. Savannah.
2015 | 107th Meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy & Psychology. New Orleans.
2015 | Midsouth Philosophy Conference. Memphis.
“Not All Who Ponder Count Costs: Reflection & Sacrificial Dilemma Judgments Revisited”
2020 | 29th Annual International Conference of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Atlanta.
2019 | Society for Philosophy & Psychology. San Diego.
2018 | Australasian Society for Philosophy & Psychology. Sydney.
“Bounded Reflectivism & Epistemic Identity”
2020 | 12th Conference of the Ontario Society for the Study of Argumentation. Windsor. (Canceled)
2018 | Southeastern Epistemology Conference. Miami.
“A Causal Network Account Of Ill-Being” [RG]
2021 | Life Improvement Science Conference. Virtual.
2018 | Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Ann Arbor. (Unable to attend)
2016 | Society for the Metaphysics of Science Conference. Geneva.
2015 | Montreal Neuroethics Conference for Young Researchers. Montreal.
2015 | Mississippi Academy of Science, Division of History and Philosophy of Science Conference. Hattiesburg.
“What Can the Selfish Goal Model Do for The Belief-Desire-Intention Model?” [RG]
2013 | Consciousness and Experiential Psychology Conference. Bristol.
“Philosophers’ Brains: What Can Neuroscience Tell Us About Philosophical Judgment?” [RG]
2012 | InterMountain Philosophy Conference. University of Utah. Salt Lake City.
2012 | Towards a Science of Consciousness Conference. Tuscon.
INVITED TALKS
2022 | “Experiments In Reflective Equilibrium Using The Socrates Platform”. Innovations in Online Research Conference. CloudResearch.
2022 | “Metacognition and Applied Experimental Philosophy”. Institute Jean Nicod. Applied Cognitive Science Webinar series (Virtual). June 16.
2022 | “From Candidacy to the Tenure Track”. Florida State University Department of Philosophy (Virtual). February 1.
2021 | “Bounded Reflectivism & Epistemic Identity”. University of Arizona Department of Philosophy Colloquium (Virtual). October 29
2021 | “Map My Words: Closing Partisan Gaps With Argument Maps And More”.
- Intelligence Community Academic Research Symposium (Virtual). September 29
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. IC Postdoc Speaker Series (Virtual). June 15
2021 | “The Role of Reflection in Philosophy”. Lake Forest University (Virtual). April 29
2021 | “Reflection in Decision Science & Philosophy: Order Effects, Discussion Effects, and Correlations In Multiple Samples”. CBDR Seminar. Carnegie Mellon University (Virtual). April 15
2021 | “Tell Us What You Really Think: A think aloud protocol analysis of the verbal Cognitive Reflection Test”. SDS Seminar. Carnegie Mellon University (Virtual). April 5
2021 | “Reflection in Cognitive & Philosophical Tasks: Order Effects and Correlations Among mTurk, CloudResearch, Prolific, and Undergraduate Participants”. Pittsburgh xPhi Lab. University of Pittsburgh (Virtual). March 5
2021 | “Your Health vs. My Liberty: Philosophical beliefs dominated reflection and identifiable victim effects when predicting public health recommendation compliance”. Center for Philosophy of Science. University of Pittsburgh (Virtual). February 9 [Video]
2020 | “Depolarizing Immigration Policy With Argument Maps”. Pittsburgh xPhi Lab. University of Pittsburgh (Virtual). October 16
2020 | “Your Health vs. My Liberty: Philosophy, Reflection, and Messaging of COVID-19 Response”. Collaboration and Conflict Research Lab. Carnegie Mellon University. (Virtual)
2020 | “Great Minds Do Not Think Alike: Psychological Factors Predict Philosophers’ Views”. Research Sharing Luncheon. Florida State University. February 20
2019 | “Intuitive & Reflective Responses In Philosophy”. Research Design & Analysis, II. Department of Psychology. Florida State University.
2019 | “Not All Who Ponder Count Costs: The Science of Moral Dilemmas”. Research Sharing Luncheon. Florida State University. June 11
2019 | “Whether & How Debiasing Works: Implications for the Classroom”. The Diversity and Inclusion in Research and Teaching Organization’s (DIRECTO’s) Symposium. Florida State University. March 28th
2018 | “Partisan Reasoning: What Is It And What Can We Do About It?”. The Fellows Forum on “Fact or Fallacy: The Creation, Distribution, and Interpretation of Knowledge.” Florida State University. March 6th.
2017 | “The Why & How of Personal Websites & Academic Social Media Profiles“. Philosophy Department. Florida State University.
2016 | “Reflection & Moral Reasoning”. Moral and Social Processing Lab. Florida State University.
2016 | “Reflection, Philosophical Training, & Theism”. Moral and Social Processing Lab. Florida State University.
2014 | “Human Experimentation Is The New Conceptual Analysis: A Dummy’s Guide To The IRB Process at CU Boulder”. Graduate Teacher Workshop. University of Colorado, Boulder.
COMMENTARIES
2021 | with Paul Conway. Comment on [Winking J and Koster J, PLoS ONE 2021 16(4):e0249345]. In Faculty Opinions, 23 April; DOI: 10.3410/f.739880448.793584533
2021 | with Paul Conway. Comment on [Luke DM and Gawronski B, Pers Soc Psychol Bull Feb 2021]. In Faculty Opinions, 01 April; DOI: 10.3410/f.739605137.793583900
2021 | with Paul Conway. Comment on [Jaquet F and Cova F, Cognition 2021 209:104572]. In Faculty Opinions, 04 March; DOI: 10.3410/f.739314942.793583048
2021 | with Paul Conway. Comment on [Li S et al., Healthcare (Basel) 2020 8(4)]. In Faculty Opinions, 02 March; DOI: 10.3410/f.739120383.793583047
2017 | “Can Domain-familiarity Account for Puzzling Responses on the Cognitive Reflection Test?” Comment on Shea and Frith’s ‘Type 0 Cognition…’“. Brains Blog Roundtable
2017 | “Associative and non-associative changes in implicit bias” Comments on “Lai et al’s ‘Meta-Analysis of Change In Implicit Bias“. Brains Blog Roundtable
2015 | “Synchronic vs. Diachronic Belief Formation: Comments on Moon and Boyce’s ‘Proper Functionalism…’” Midsouth Philosophy Conference. Rhodes College, Memphis
2013 | “Are theists intuitions faulty?” Comments on Church and Barrett’s “Can CSR Give Atheists Epistemic Assurance?” SCP’s Mountain-Pacific Region Conference: Faith and Reason. University of Colorado, Boulder
INVITED WORKSHOP PARTICIPATION
2023 | IARPA’s REASON Program Proposer’s Day.
2022 | The Fund Consciousness Science! Workshop (Travel, lodging, and potential grant funding—above).
2021 | Corpus Linguistics in Philosophy (CoLiPhi21), Zurich. Virtual
20201 | Summer Seminar in Neuroscience and Philosophy, Duke University. Virtual
2018 | Social Science: Epistemological Foundations and Methodological Debates, Florida State University
2018 | TAPMI-Max Planck-Soton Winter School on Bounded Rationality, T. A. Pai Management Institute. (Unable to attend due to Winter Storm Grayson)
2017 | Philosophy & Physical Computing, Virginia Tech
2015 | Explaining Religion: Cognitive Science of Religion and Naturalism, Vrije Universiteit
MEDIA COVERAGE
2022 | “Philosopher develops app to research belief-driven polarization and conflict“. What’s it like Being an ORISE STEM Researcher? Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.
2021 | “The College of Arts and Letters Welcomes Nick Byrd to its Faculty“. Stevens Institute of Technology News.
2020 | “What We Can (And Can’t) Infer About Implicit Bias From Debiasing Experiments“. Faculti. [free version]
2019 | “Making sense of morality: FSU researchers advance the study of ethical decision-making“. Florida State University News.
2019 | “Making sense of morality: FSU researchers advance the study of ethical decision-making“. Florida State Headlines. WFSU Media (NPR, PBS, and more)
2017 | “APA Member Interview: Nick Byrd” (March 17). Blog of the APA.
2016 | “ACI Interview with Scholarly Blogger & PhD Candidate Nick Byrd“. (April 27). ACI Scholarly Blog Index. Interviewer: Traci Hector.
PUBLIC WRITING
2023 | “Is ChatGPT Going to Eat (or Save) the World?” (January 19). Stevens Institute of Technology’s Research & Innovation column.
2022 | Justice, Nationalism, Christianity, and Race (January 17). Upon Reflection (Blog). Psychology Today.
2021 | Belief Bias, Polarization, and Potential Solutions (December 25). Upon Reflection (Blog). Psychology Today.
2021 | Can We Estimate Our Own Ability to Reason? (April 17). Upon Reflection (Blog). Psychology Today.
2021 | Bias: What is It? When Is It Bad? (April 17). Upon Reflection (Blog). Psychology Today.
2021 | Not Just Online Conferences: Online Workshops, Seminars, Colloquia, etc. (March 9). In the Online Conference Symposia at The Brains Blog.
2020 | The Moral Tradeoffs of Public Health (September 9). Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
2019 | Syllabus Showcase: Nick Byrd, Introduction to Philosophy (October 16). Blog of the APA.
2019 | Eliminating Footnotes Makes Philosophy More Accessible (January 17). Blog of the APA.
2016 | “So You’re A Philosopher, Eh? What Do Philosophers Do?” (February 24). Blog of the APA.
2015 | “The Future of Online Conferences in Philosophy” (with Cameron Buckner and John Schwenkler), DailyNous
2015 | “Researchers Wrestle with Co-Authorship.” Nature 528(7580): 11–11. By Dalmeet Singh Chawla.
INVITED PODCAST/VIDEO DISCUSSIONS
2021 | Dr. Sahar Joakim interviews Dr. Byrd on public health and personal liberty. What the COVID-19 pandemic revealed about people’s philosophy regarding morality, politics, religion, and abortion (March 4). Sahar Joakim’s YouTube channel
2020 | Reflection and Well-being during the Pandemic (August 27). In Limbo Conversations
2020 | Lessons about the academic job market from 280 applications, multiple interviews, and a few offers (March 30). YouTube
2019 | The Natalism Debate (March 30). Veracity Hill Podcast
2017 | It’s just a social construct, guys (July 29). I Can’t Believe it’s Not News Podcast
2017 | More Thoughtful – Atheists or Theists? (June 24, 2017). Veracity Hill with Kurt Jaros et al.
2016 | Is Voting for a Third Party a Wasted Vote? (Oct 1, 2016). Veracity Hill with Kurt Jaros et al.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
SP 2023 | Instructor: Ethical Issues in Science and Technology
FA 2022 | Instructor: Logic
SP 2022 | Instructor: Ethics of Business and Technology
FA 2021 | Instructor: Philosophy of Mind
SU 2018, 2019 | Instructor: Introduction to Philosophy
FA 16, 17, SP 18 | Assistant: Reasoning & Critical Thinking
SU 2017 | Co-instructor: Python Coding Workshop – Grades 3-8
SP 2017 | Assistant: Free Will & Science
SP 2015, 2016 | Assistant: Environmental Ethics
FA 2015 | Assistant: Social Justice & Diversity
FA 2014 | Assistant: Introduction to Philosophy
SP 2014, May 2014 | Assistant: Philosophy & The Sciences
SP 2014 | Assistant: History of Science: Newton to Einstein
FA 2013 | Recitation Instructor: Philosophy & The Sciences (2/week)
2012- 2013 | Apple Store Specialist: Introduction to iCloud, Getting Started with iPad, iWork Tips and Tricks
GUEST LECTURES
2017 | “Causal Claims & Arguments From Samples”, Reasoning & Critical Thinking, Florida State University
2017 | “Diagnostic Reasoning Under Uncertainty”, Reasoning & Critical Thinking, Florida State University
2017 | “The Illusion of Will”, Free Will & Science, Florida State University
2016 | “Philosophical Thinking: Fast & Slow”, Reasoning and Critical Thinking, Florida State University
2016 | “On Intrinsic and Instrumental Value”, Environmental Ethics, Florida State University
2015, 2016 | “On The Institution of Property”, Environmental Ethics, Florida State University
2014 | “On Abortion”, Introduction to Philosophy, Florida State University
2013 | “Against Metaphysics”, Philosophy & The Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
2013 | “The Hypothetico-Deductive Method”, Philosophy & The Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
COURSES PREPARED TO TEACH
Introductory
Critical Thinking
Ethics (Applied, Experimental, or Theoretical)
Ethics of Business and Technology
Introduction to Philosophy
Logic
Intermediate
Cognitive Science
Experimental Philosophy
Environmental Ethics
History of Science: Newton to Present
Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Mind
Advanced or Graduate level
Cognitive Science of Religion
Dual Process Theory
Moral Psychology
Well-being
With Advance Notice
Causation
Epistemology
Ethics of Computer and/or Data Science
Feminist Ethics
Feminist Philosophy of Science
Introduction to Humanities
Metaphysics
Modern Philosophy
Non-western Philosophy
Philosophy of Psychology
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Statistics
Political Philosophy
Political Psychology
Social and/or Personality Psychology
Positive Psychology
ADVISING & MENTORING
2022-2023 | Aswin Aguinaga (Stevens Institute of Technology), Thesis about forms of knowledge conveyed by poetry (vs. other genres)
2022 | Jeffrey Busold (Stevens Institute of Technology), Research Assistant
2022 | Jenna Booth (Stevens Institute of Technology), Research Assistant
2020 | Sahana Rajan (University of Delhi), Paper About Philosophy of Physics
2019 – 2020 | Brianna Joseph, Gabriela Gongora (Florida State University), Think Aloud Protocol Analysis
2019 | Jeremy Ben (Miami Dade College), Introduction to Philosophical Psychology
2019 | Jermaine Tucker (Columbus State University), Academic Research
2019 | Ashley Potts (University of South Florida), Grant Application
2017 – 2018 | Sarah McHenry, Graduate Program Application
2015 – 2016 | Sierra Cortes, Graduate Program Application, Publication
GRADUATE COURSEWORK
University of Colorado
Ethics Proseminar. David Boonin, Adam Hosein, Alison Jaggar, Alistair Norcross. Grade: A-.
Metaphysics. Michael Tooley. Grade: A.
History & Philosophy of Physics. Allan Franklin (Physics). Grade: B+
Topics in Cognitive Science. University of Colorado’s Institute of Cognitive Science. Grade: A.
Philosophy of Mind. Rob Rupert. Grade: A-.
Methods in Cognitive Science. Michael Mozer (Computer Science) & Tor Wager (Neuroscience). Grade: A.
Topics in Cognitive Science. University of Colorado’s Institute of Cognitive Science. Grade: A.
Computational Corpus Linguistics. Kevin Cohen (Linguistics). Grade: A-.
General Statistics. Chick Judd & Joshua Correll (Psychology) Grade: B.
Aristotle + 17th Century Philosophy. Dan Kaufman & Mitzi Lee. Grade: A-.
Proseminar: Thinking. Matt Jones (Psychology). Grade: B+.
Florida State University
Self-knowledge. John Schwenkler. Grade: A
Self-control. Marcela Herdova & Stephen Kearns. Grade: A
Well-being. Mike Bishop. Grade: A
Self-knowledge. John Schwenkler. Grade: A
Modern Philosophy. John Roberts. Grade: A
Modern Logic. Piers Rawling. Grade: B-
Directed Individual Study: Naturalized Epistemology. Mike Bishop. Grade: Satisfactory
Kant & The History of Thought. Michael Ruse. Grade: A
Philosophy of Science. Jack Justus. Grade: A
Directed Individual Study: Aspects of Agency. Al Mele. Grade: Satisfactory
Issues in Cognitive Science. Wally Boot (Psychology). Grade: Satisfactory
Ethics Core Course. Mark Lebar. Grade: B+
Supervised Teaching. Tracie Mahaffey.Grade: Satisfactory
Causation. Marie Flemming. Grade: Satisfactory
Dispositions. Randy Clarke. Grade: Satisfactory
Directed Individual Study: Philosophy of Reflective Reasoning. Mike Bishop Grade: Satisfactory
Directed Individual Study: Science of Reflective Reasoning. John Schwenker. Grade: Satisfactory
Directed Individual Study: Intuitive vs. Reflective Reasoning. John Schwenker. Grade: Satisfactory
Directed Individual Study: Social Psychology of Morality. Paul Conway. Grade: Satisfactory
Directed Individual Study: Philosophy of Psychology. John Schwenker. Grade: Satisfactory
Cognition & Perception. Jonathan Folstein (Psychology). Grade: A
Research Design & Analysis I. Grade: A
Research Design & Analysis II. Grade: A-
Individual Research Study: Science of Moral Dilemmas. Paul Conway. Grade: A
Individual Research Study: Dual Process Theory in Moral Psychology. Paul Conway. Grade: A
Tutorial in Philosophy Teaching. Michael Bishop. Grade: Satisfactory
Naturalist Normativity. Michael Bishop & James “Jack” Justus. Grade: Satisfactory
Expertise & Think Aloud Protocol Analysis. Anders Ericsson. Grade: A
OTHER UNIVERSITY WORK
Florida State University
2016 – 2019 | Website Manager. Philosophy Department
2014 – 2018 | Teaching Assistant. Philosophy Department
2016 | Prospective Student Coordinator. Philosophy Department
2015 (Summer) | Assistant. The Philosophy & Science of Self-control
University of Colorado, Boulder
2013 – 2014 | Teaching Assistant. Philosophy Department
2013 – 2014 | Assistant. The Committee For The History & Philosophy Of Science (CHPS)
2013 | Research Assistant to Carol Cleland, Michael Tooley
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
2009 – 2011 | Resident Director. Student Development
Palm Beach Atlantic University
2008 – 2009 | Assistant Resident Director, Student Life
2007 – 2008 | 10-year Strategic Plan Committee Undergraduate Representative: President’s Office
2006 – 2008 | Resident Assistant, Student Life
2007 – 2008 | Chapel Assistant, Student Success
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2020 – present | Co-managing Editor at The Brains Blog
2022 – 2024 | American Philosophical Association’s Ad Hoc Committee On Virtual Meetings. My role: Testing the effectiveness of moving the American Philosophical Association’s annual conferences online.
2018 – 2022 | Social Media Partner at Neural Mechanisms Online
2016 – 2020 | Contributing Editor at The Brains Blog
2015 – 2019 | Webmaster: Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Agency Conference
2015 – 2017 | Co-organizer of the Minds Online Conference
2013 | Co-organizer of the 29th Annual Boulder Conference on the History and Philosophy of Science, Boulder
REFEREEING
2022 | American Philosophical Quarterly, Cognition, Ergo, Erkenntnis, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, Intelligence and National Security, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Oxford Studies in Experimental Philosophy, Palgrave Macmillan, Philosophy, Review of Philosophy and Psychology, Society for Judgment and Decision-making (student poster competition), Synthese, WIRES Cognitive Science
2021 | Archives of Sexual Behavior, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Bloomsbury’s Experimental Philosophy of Medicine volume of Advances in Experimental Philosophy series, Educational Research and Reviews, Ergo, Erkenntnis, National Science Foundation, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophies, Review of Philosophy and Psychology, Synthese, WIRES Cognitive Science
2020 | Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Cognition, Cognitive Science, Erkenntnis, Social Psychological and Personality Science, Society for Philosophy & Psychology, Synthese
2019 | British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Philosophia, PLOS One, Synthese
2018 | An Introduction to Implicit Bias: Knowledge, Justice, and the Social Mind (Routledge)
2017 | Review of Philosophy and Psychology, Minds Online Conference
2016 | Synthese; Minds Online Conference
2015 | Philosophical Psychology, PLOS One, Minds Online Conference, Global Development Curriculum (Palm Beach Atlantic University)
NON-ACADEMIC WORK
2013 | Genius Bar Specialist. Apple
2012 | Back of House Specialist. Apple
2011 | Sales Specialist. Apple
2002 – 2008 | Carpenter, Landscaper, Machine operator, etc. Cape Signature Homes
AFFILIATIONS
2020 – present | American Psychological Association
2020 – present | Society for Personality and Social Psychology
2019 – present | Society for Philosophy and Psychology
2019 – present | Network for Research on Morality
2015 – present | Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology
2012 – present | American Philosophical Association
2014 – 2015 | Minorities and Philosophy
2014 – 2015 | Mississippi Academy of Sciences
2012 – 2014 | Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder
VOLUNTEER WORK
2015 | Judge: National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference, Florida State University
2011 |Construction Volunteer, Front Step, Inc., Philadelphia
2010 |Repair Volunteer, One Heart Many Hands, Orange Blossom Trail
2009 |Trail Maintenance Trip Leader, Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, Dahlonega
2008 |Trail Maintenance Volunteer, Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, Dahlonega
2008, 2009 |Construction Volunteer, Habitat For Humanity, West Palm Beach
2007 |Volunteer, South Florida Science Museum, West Palm Beach
2007 |Volunteer, Quantum House, West Palm Beach
2004, 2005 |Home-building Volunteer, Baja Ministries, Tecate
REFERENCES
Philipp Chapkovski | Applied Cognitive Science – University of Bonn
Michał Białek | Psychology – University of Wroclaw
John Schwenkler | Philosophy – Florida State University
Michael Bishop | Philosophy – Florida State University
James “Jack” Justus | Philosophy – Florida State University
Paul Conway | Psychology – University of Portsmouth
Lisa Liseno | The Graduate School – Florida State University
Shannon Spaulding | Philosophy – Oklahoma State University
The late K. Anders Ericsson | Psychology – Florida State University
Carol Cleland | Philosophy, Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science, Astrobiology – University of Colorado Boulder
Michael Tooley | Philosophy – University Colorado Boulder
Robert Rupert | Philosophy, Institute of Cognitive Science – University of Colorado Boulder; Philosophy – University of Edinburgh
Michael Mozer | Computer Science, Institute of Cognitive Science – University of Colorado Boulder
Craig Hanson | Philosophy, Humanities, Pharmacy, Strategic Global Development – Palm Beach Atlantic University
PRAISE
o”It was a great honor taking [Nick’s] class. Honestly, [Nick is] the most responsible professor I have ever had.” (Senior, Stevens Institute of Technology, Spring 2022)
“I really appreciate [Nick’s] willingness and openness to dive into conversations that are brought about by the genuine curiosity of students. I think that [their] prioritization of balancing that while still maintaining a close connection to the course objectives is a difficult task that [they] have managed very well.” (Anonymous, mid-semester course feedback, Stevens Institute of Technology, Fall 2021)
“This Prof is the best prof to have for any Philosophy class if you see him keep it!” (RateMyProfessors.com, 2019)
“I like that my instructor genuinely cares about us and our understanding. I find the worksheets and the slide recaps to be extremely helpful.” (Anonymous, mid-semester course feedback, Florida State University, 2019)
“Fantastic professor, genuinely helped us learn effectively rather than feed us the material. Give this man a raise, he is in the top 3 best professors I have had in the last 5 years here.” (Anonymous Student Evaluation, Florida State University, 2018)
“…in Nick Byrd’s workshop about debiasing, I was mentally saying to myself, ‘This is exactly what I was looking for in our teaching discussion group diversity presentation and didn’t get! Something concrete and positive (i.e. ‘here’s something you can do’ rather than ‘avoid doing this.’)’” (Faculty, Department of Biology, Florida State University)
“When I think of the people who have positively influenced my time here at FSU, [Nick is] at the top of the list. [Nick] has taught me so much and I am so thankful for all [his] feedback on my work and [his] guidance in general.” (Senior, Florida State University)
“Nick’s lecture was excellent. […] He began with a light-hearted but stimulating anecdote […]. He then invited students to critique an intuitive moral principle, by which he immediately elicited student participation and dialogue […]. Nick fielded questions and comments with competency and charity, capably guiding the conversation toward the lesson while affirming students’ insights along the way. The PowerPoint presentation was first-rate, serving as a useful road map for students but never overloading them with too much information. Nick’s tone was relaxed but engaging, and he was able to maintain students’ attention throughout. Nick’s lecture demonstrated both competency with the subject matter and careful preparation.” (Dan Miller, Florida State University)
“Nick consistently demonstrated enthusiasm for the class and course material, as well as concern for the students…. his grades were consistently submitted in advance of their deadlines. His response time to email inquiries was immediate. Nick was always prepared. I could always count on him. In short, he was the dream teaching assistant.” (Carmen Marcous, Florida State University)
“[Nick] did an excellent job.” (Alfred Mele, Florida State University, Philosophy & Science of Self-control)
“Consummate professionalism…supportive attitude towards students; detailed feedback for students…” (Jack Justus, Florida State University)
“[Nick is] impossibly responsible.” (John Schwenkler, Florida State University)
“…I was especially impressed with the way [Nick] conducted himself with the students. I was able to witness a number of [Nick’s] interactions with students and his conduct was not only professional but he also communicated to the students a real eagerness to help them….I also know that he can handle himself well when confronted with a hostile student.” (John Roberts, Florida State University)
“[Nick is] the best TA ever! I became a philosophy major after taking [a class in which Nick was the TA]….” (Sophomore, Florida State University)
“[Nick] is the best administrative assistant that I have worked with in the past ten years of chairing [The Committee For The History & Philosophy Of Science].” (Carol Cleland, University of Colorado Boulder)
“Nick is incredible. Definitely fully committed to helping students learn. Thank you.” (Anonymous Student Evaluation, University of Colorado Boulder)
“Nick did a really nice job of explaining the readings and coming up with questions for discussion. He was always well-prepared and led the discussions effectively. I always felt more prepared going into the lectures, writing papers, and taking quizzes after going to [Nick’s recitation].” (Anonymous Student Evaluation, University of Colorado Boulder)
“I cannot emphasize enough about how professional and responsible Nick has been…in my nine years on this campus I have not had a staff member excel in both of these areas as well as Nick.” (Ryan Schmitz, Mount Vernon Nazarene University)
“I characterize [Nick] as both intellectually fearless and intellectually tenacious. [Nick] is also one of the finest philosophical writers that I have ever had the pleasure to work with.” (Craig Hanson, Palm Beach Atlantic University)