dr.

I’m a philosopher at Leiden University (in the Netherlands) and an external member of the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy.

I completed my PhD in Philosophy in 2009 at the Australian National University on the philosophical foundations of probability theory, and I have Bachelor’s degrees in Science (Mathematics) and Arts (Philosophy) from the University of Queensland.

My academic research is at the intersection of psychology and philosophy and focuses on wisdom, uncertainty, meditation, and psychedelics. In January 2023, I’ll be the principal investigator on the Templeton-funded project “Mystical Entropy: The Development of a New Theoretical Framework for the Scientific Study of Mystical Experience” at Leiden University.

In addition to being an academic philosopher, I like to keep one foot in the real world by applying my research as a consultant and entrepreneur. I help organisations improve their decision-making processes using results from the psychology of human judgement and principles from the philosophy of probability. I’ve worked on projects across various domains, including biosecurity intelligence, geopolitical forecasting, environmental decision-making, institutional investing, and psychedelic therapy. Many of these projects involve developing software (e.g., decision support systems) and I’m often involved as a product designer (I also have a passion for web design).

Most recently, I’ve begun integrating my research on psychedelics and meditation into this work. In my forthcoming book, Psychedelic Experience, I argue that we can use these interventions on the brain/mind to improve our decision-making (individually and collectively). To this end, I’ve supported some of my clients with psychedelic and philosophical coaching, and I’ve created an online course that teaches how one can use meditation to enhance one’s critical thinking and decision-making.