Nathan Hauthaler

"Im Rennen der Philosophie gewinnt, wer am langsamsten laufen kann. Oder: der, der das Ziel zuletzt erreicht." (another obscure Austrian philosopher)

About

I'm an Assistant Professor in Philosophy at Duke Kunshan University, a "Sino-Foreign" university in China, & an Assistant Professor of the Practice at Duke University, a chiefly foreign university in the United States. I work mainly on the nature of agency & action, from various vantage points, both systematic & historical (see Research, & our favorite Greek hero: Articles).
Previously I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania (PRRUCS), where I worked on the Anscombe Archive.
Before that (in 2020) I obtained a PhD in Philosophy at Stanford, where I co-founded & coordinated the research workshop Varieties of Agency (originally with Michael Bratman & Tamar Schapiro; most recently with David Hills & Barry Maguire).
Even earlier, I studied Philosophy as well as Law, in Austria, the Netherlands, & the UK, & worked on issues in public international law. You might find my CV here.

Research

I mainly work on fundamental issues of human agency & action, from vantage points of philosophy of mind & action, metaphysics, epistemology, & ethics. In my dissertation I defend the thesis that intentional action constitutively involves a distinctively practical form of understanding of one’s doing that constitutes knowledge—practical knowledge. I defend the thesis focusing specifically on the ontology of action & the metaphysics of practical capacities exercised in intentional action.
More generally I am interested in the nature of action, practical cognition (practical thought, intention, reasoning), & practical constitution; also from historical vantage points, especially in Anscombe, Aristotle, and Classical Chinese philosophy.
I also work on various normative and applied questions concerning human agency, from questions concerning the nature & demands of friendship to applied & normative questions about the design of things we engage with.
For some of my current projects, see Articles. In subsequent work I will focus notably on social-structural determinant of agency & practical capacity: on how our social communities and milieus shape the contours of our agential outlook and constitution; how attending to them can in turn help understand the contours of our practical thinking & actions.
In public international law I remain particularly interested in issues about the use of force (ius ad bellum; in bello) & anti-discrimination law.

Articles

Forthcoming:
✧ "Practical Knowledge and the Past" (Canadian Journal of Philosophy), argues against the possibility of strictly practical knowledge of our past actions.
✧ "Practical Knowledge & Practical Knowledge" (Lucy Camble ed. Forms of Knowledge (OUP)), argues for the constitutive connection of the two forms of practical knowledge Anscombe discusses in Intention.
Forthcoming:
✧ with Dan Cheely eds. Anscombe and the Anscombe Archive (University of Pennsylvania), collects scholarly essays on the same.
✧ "Anscombe on Basic Action: Doubts about Doubts", in Cheely and Hauthaler eds. discusses an unpublished manuscript of Anscombe's on "Doubts about 'Basic Action'".
Published:
✧ (2022) "Strong Cognitivist Weaknesses". Analytic Philosophy, challenges the identification of intention with a form of belief.
✧ (2015) “Praktisches Unwissen und Irren”, Kertscher & Müller eds. (2015): Lebensform und Praxisform. Paderborn (Mentis). discusses forms of failure of practical thought & action.
✧ (2012): “Wittgenstein on Actions, Reasons, and Causes”, Marques & Venturinha eds. (2012): Knowledge, Language, and Mind. Wittgenstein's Early Investigations. Berlin (De Gruyter). discusses Wittgenstein on causation in action.
✧ (2012): “On the Responsibility to Protect and Its Emancipation from Humanitarian Intervention”, Mathis-Moser ed. (2012): Responsibility to Protect: A Canadian Heritage. Innsbruck (Innsbruck University Press). discusses the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect in comparison to the doctrine of Humanitarian Intervention.Contracted (draft completed):
✧ "Practical Knowledge and Practical Knowledge", for Lucy Campbell's ed.
Forms of Knowledge (OUP). interprets Anscombe’s two notions of ‘practical knowledge’ in terms of practical capacity & felicitous exercise.Under review:
✧ [redacted]: challenges the dogma that all intentional action is done for reasons. An early version won the APA's 2020-21 Jean Hampton Prize in Philosophy.
✧ [redacted]: challenges the idea of practical knowledge of past action;In preparation for submission:
✧ “Actions, Processes, and Events”: defends a unified ontology of ongoing vs. concluded action;
✧ “Wanting What One Wants”: disentangles various forms of wanting and of knowledge of them;
✧ “On Intention as Action”: challenges the identification of intention with a form of action;
✧ "Extended Practical Cognition?": articulates limitations of the possibility of extended practical cognition and knowledge;
✧ “Ten Carbon Copies” defends practical knowledge against a purportedly seminal counterexample;
✧ "Reactive Luck": discusses the significance of luck afflicting us as bearers of reactive attitudes;
✧ "Thought Friends": articulates a puzzle from mutual recognition for the nature of friendship.

Teaching

I've been teaching & mentoring students for more than a decade now, at the University of London (Birkbeck), Stanford, CUNY (City College), Duke, Duke Kunshan University, & San Quentin State Prison. I've designed & taught courses including individual & group tutorials, introductory lecturesm & advanced seminars, for undergraduates & graduates & advanced high-schoolers. Much of my teaching has been in things Practical Philosophy complementing my research interests (including courses on: Action, Ethics, Political Philosophy, Justice) & related applied issues (e.g. of Global Justice; Public Policy; Emerging Technologies), the history of philosophy (History of Modern Philosophy; Great Books & Core curricula. For my most recent courses, see my DKU teaching rubric.

Service

At DKU I currently advise & mentor students in various capacities (academic; signature work; pre-law; student clubs). Much of my extracurricular attention is on building out Superdeep, DKU's extracurricular philosophical ecosystem.I offer pro bono (middle to graduate school) advising & mentorship to members of underserved communities, especially ones not currently in or bound for academia. If this speaks to you, don't hesitate to reach out. If you're hesitant to reach out I'd particularly like to hear from you, so absolutely reach out.Lastly: if you're reading this you have books at home, including ones you could pass on. Consider sending them to Books Through Bars, where I help find them new homes, or to similar initiatives.

...or send a letter to:

昆山杜克大学 | Duke Kunshan University
中国江苏省昆山市杜克大道8号邮编：215316
No. 8 Duke Avenue, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China 215316