Summary
Ravi Thakral has primary research interests in the philosophy of language and ethics, with further interests in epistemology, logic, and related areas. His teaching interests include developing work that incorporates global sources (especially from Indian philosophy) in a way that speaks to current issues across all fundamental areas of philosophy.
In recent work, Ravi argues that generic generalizations (exception-granting generalizations such as ‘Parks have swings’) are essential to understanding the nature and structure of morality. He argues that accepting this means that the principles associated with the moral realm are much less substantial than we usually assume. In doing so, his work provides a new line of opposition against the privileged status of principles in moral philosophy, and opens new avenues for understanding the role and nature of moral principles informed by recent empirical developments across linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. In other ongoing work, Ravi investigates the role of genericity in the perpetuation of prejudice, as well as a range of issues in moral epistemology.
Ravi is a Lecturer at the University of Nevada, Reno. Before coming to UNR, he taught at the University of Sussex (and served as the Admissions Tutor for Philosophy and PPE) and at the University of St Andrews (with an additional affiliation to the Center for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs). He is also a Research Fellow at the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics at the University of Baltimore.
Research Interests:
- Semantics and pragmatics of generics
- The role of generics in moral and social cognition
- The language of prejudice
- Moral epistemology
Courses taught:
- PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy
- PHIL 114: Intro Symbolic Logic
- PHIL 245: Contemporary Moral Issues
- PHIL 316: Survey of 20th Century Philosophy
- PHIL 425/625: Philosophy of Language
- PHIL 450/650: Ethical Theory
Publications:
- Moral principles as generics (Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 2024)
- Generics and weak necessity (Inquiry, 2018)
Awards:
- Dean's Award for Outstanding Teaching (non-tenured category), College of Liberal Arts, University of Nevada, Reno (2024)
- Students' Association Teaching award (PhD teaching category), University of St Andrews (2019)
Education
- PhD, Philosophy, University of St Andrews & University of Stirling Joint Programme, 2019
- MLitt, Philosophy, University of St Andrews & University of Stirling Joint Programme, 2013
- BA, Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin, 2012