Z.K. Payne
Z.K. Payne (she/they)
I'm a PhD candidate at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. After receiving a BA in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2018, I worked as a Research Coordinator in the Psychology department at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. I loved the work but couldn't shake the desire for more schooling in philosophy, so here I am!
My philosophical interests lie primarily at the intersection of moral psychology, (meta)ethics, and aesthetics. It is at this intersection that I’ve ‘set up shop’ under the supervision of Dave Shoemaker, Shaun Nichols, Nicholas Silins and Olivia Bailey. My dissertation focuses on empathy; more specifically, the normativity involved in empathy and its involvement in our complex affective responses to art. Additionally, I'm interested in Buddhist philosophy and hope to bring ancient insights to bear on contemporary questions.
Contact: zkp2 [at] cornell.edu
