About me

Welcome! My name is Guyu (he/him). I am a PhD candidate in philosophy at Cornell University. 

My dissertation is on the metaphysics and modal profile of Abilities and Ability Modals (the sense of "can" that is used for ability ascriptions). Here is a set of relevant questions: 

• Are abilities hypothetical necessities?

• Are abilities a special kind of restricted possibility?

• What is the relationship between abilities and causal explanations of actions and behaviors?

• How to acquire an ability through practice? 

I am also interested in exploring adjacent areas such as moral psychology (e.g. free will, reason-responsiveness, blame and blameworthiness, moral worth) and epistemology (e.g. understanding, know-how, self-awareness, being in a position to know).

My dissertation committee members are Carlotta Pavese (co-chair), Derk Pereboom (co-chair), and Nico Silins. 

My email is gz238[at]cornell[dot]edu.