I am a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics program at UNC, Chapel Hill and recently received my PhD in philosophy from the University of Southern California. I work primarily in political philosophy and the history of philosophy, with a particular interest in Hobbes’s philosophy.

My current work in political philosophy focuses on questions concerning the justification of state authority and what determines the legitimate exercise of state authority. The central puzzle I am concerned with is why people should go along with the state’s laws and policies, even when they believe those laws and policies are wrong.

My current work on Hobbes focuses on questions concerning Hobbes’s theory of obligation and especially its relationship to his motivational psychology and theory of freedom.

Much like me, this website is a work in progress.

Contact me: po [dot] goffs [at] gmail [dot] com