In Fall 2025, I'll be Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. I recently earned my Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Maryland, College Park. My research focuses on ethics and the moral psychology of emotions. I take a humanistic approach to these topics, drawing on literature and other arts to defend philosophical conclusions embedded in ordinary understanding. I tend to work in a pluralistic framework, at the intersections of historical and contemporary philosophy, as well as the continental and analytic traditions.
I wrote my dissertation on love and other emotions across time. The European Journal of Philosophy has published the first article from this project, "Love and Evaluative Conflict." I am preparing for publication papers on the pleasures of being seduced and the duration of grief. Other works in progress include a paper on the rationality of passion, a paper on Marcel Proust and emotions across time, and a paper on the philosophical novel as a literary genre.
Besides Maryland, I studied philosophy at Bard College and The New School for Social Research. I have taught courses on negative emotions, love and sex, existentialism, ethical theory, and contemporary moral issues. I have assisted courses on introduction to philosophy, ancient philosophy, and philosophy of religion. At Maryland, I advised philosophy majors as an undergraduate advisor and co-founded the department's Minorities and Philosophy chapter (MAPterps@umd.edu).
You can email me at tillmanj@umd.edu. I was recently interviewed by the APA and the UMD Center for Humanities Research. Here is my CV.