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I'm an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia.
In AY 26/27 I'll be a Guest Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Humboldt University in Berlin. My research focuses on topics in the philosophy of sexuality, emotion, and methodologies in social metaphysics. I regularly teach courses on topics in social philosophy at both the undergraduate and graduate level. I earned my PhD from Rutgers University (New Brunswick) in May 2021 and my dissertation was on the metaphysics of social construction. Email: dpayton[at]virginia[dot]edu Academic CV |
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
I work in three general areas: (i) philosophical methodology in social metaphysics, (ii) philosophy of sex/sexuality, and (iii) philosophy of emotion. You'll find short descriptions of each general research project in the drop-down menu below, and below that you'll find short descriptions of each of my papers. Papers currently under review are marked with an asterisk.*
Please email me if you're interested in reading a draft.
I work in three general areas: (i) philosophical methodology in social metaphysics, (ii) philosophy of sex/sexuality, and (iii) philosophy of emotion. You'll find short descriptions of each general research project in the drop-down menu below, and below that you'll find short descriptions of each of my papers. Papers currently under review are marked with an asterisk.*
Please email me if you're interested in reading a draft.
PhilosoPhiCaL Methodology in social metaphysics
What (if anything) makes the social world unique? In my view, the answer has do with the relationships that hold between language, value, and metaphysical reality, in the social domain. Existing literature on this topic has had a lot to say about language and metaphysics, but I'm primarily interested questions about the role of value.
Specifically, I'm interested in how our values guide our theorizing about the social world, the different roles that values can play in our metaphysics, and which available methodological frameworks (if any) are able to accomplish the tasks we ask of them, when it comes to value-informed metaphysics. But in general, I argue that value plays an authoritative role in our methodologies in social ontology and feminist metaphysics, and although this role fundamental to our theorizing about the social world, it's actually not as special as we tend to think.
Specifically, I'm interested in how our values guide our theorizing about the social world, the different roles that values can play in our metaphysics, and which available methodological frameworks (if any) are able to accomplish the tasks we ask of them, when it comes to value-informed metaphysics. But in general, I argue that value plays an authoritative role in our methodologies in social ontology and feminist metaphysics, and although this role fundamental to our theorizing about the social world, it's actually not as special as we tend to think.
Philosophy of Sex & Sexuality
My work in the philosophy of sex and sexuality is focused largely on questions about the nature & ethics of kink and BDSM. Specifically, my research explores the roles of agency and identity within BDSM, especially in power exchange dynamics.
Philosophy of Emotion
My research interests in this area span a wide range, but they can be roughly summarized as an interest in the nature and value of difficult experiences, and particularly those difficult experiences that we put ourselves through on purpose. Existing research in these areas places a lot of emphasis on why people do this. But I’m more interested in questions about what we’re doing, when we put ourselves through these ordeals. My current research focuses on the nature of these activities and the emotions that accompany them, and I’m also interested to address questions about the ethics, epistemology, and aesthetic value of these experiences.
In this vein, I'm currently working on papers about horror and disgust: I'm interested in the ways that we intentionally and unintentionally manufacture horrific and disgusting experiences for ourselves, and the ethical significance of this activity.
In this vein, I'm currently working on papers about horror and disgust: I'm interested in the ways that we intentionally and unintentionally manufacture horrific and disgusting experiences for ourselves, and the ethical significance of this activity.
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ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
Normative Social Ontology (Journal of Social Ontology, forthcoming). This is a paper about the role of value in projects in social ontology. PDF Scenes as Games: Agency, Autonomy, and Value in BDSM (Hypatia, 2025). This is a paper about the metaphysics & ethics of BDSM scenes, analyzed as games. PhilPapers Emancipatory Methodology [with Elizabeth Barnes] (Ethics, 2025). This is a paper about the role of political commitments in descriptive projects in social ontology. PhilPapers Social Properties (The Routledge Handbook of Properties, 2024). This paper is a survey of the existing literature on the social construction of properties. PhilPapers Searching for Social Properties (Philosophy & Phenomenological Research, 2022). This is a paper about what it takes for a property to be social. PhilPapers |
WORKS-IN-PROGRESS
SOCIAL METAPHYSICS & PHILOSOPHICAL METHODOLOGY Easy Ontology, Hard Ethics (In Progress). I argue that the normative commitments characteristic of projects in critical social ontology are incompatible with NeoCarnapian deflationary metaphysics.* System Caging (In Progress). This is a paper about the material nature and harms of systemic marginalization.* Critical Explanation (In Progress). In this paper I distinguish between material explanations and representational explanations in social metaphysics. I argue that each sort of explanation offers different explanatory goods, and then I argue that, sometimes, we have reasons to prefer material explanations over representational ones. PHILOSOPHY OF SEXUALITY & EMOTION Sexual Compromises (In Progress). This is a paper about the ethics of persuading someone to compromise on sex.* Real Horror, Real Pleasure (In Progress). Many projects in the philosophy of horror focus on the questions & problems of horror fiction. This paper is about the horror we feel in response to non-fictional reality.* Agency, Identity, and Power Exchange in BDSM. (APA Studies in Feminist Philosophy, book symposium on Quill Kukla's Sex Beyond Yes). Sometimes, roles like "Dominant" and "submissive" are taken up as identities in BDSM communities. I argue that this presents certain challenges for traditional ways of thinking about the ethics of BDSM. What's Sexual Orientation Got to Do with Sex? (Canadian Journal of Philosophy book symposium on Matt Andler's Sexual Orientation & Sexual Identity and Kevin Richardson's The End of Binaries). I argue that the literature on sexual orientation has focused so much on questions about the nature of orientation that it has under-theorized the role of sex & sexual desire. Orientation and Fantasy.(In Progress). I argue that sexual orientation is fundamentally about the sort(s) of sexual interactions we want to have, where this is largely based on sexual desires & fantasies. |