about me
I was born in Taipei, Taiwan. I began studying philosophy at
Rutgers University. I am in my third-year in the PhD program at
the University of Michigan. I enjoy cooking and eating food.
Here is my
CV (pdf).
contact
Department of Philosophy
University of Michigan
435 South State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1003
samliao (actuality) umich
research
Broadly, my primary interest lies in the intersection between
aesthetics and
philosophy of mind and psychology. I am particularly interested in the relationship between fictionality, genre, and imagination. Related to this area, I also have secondary interests in the
epistemology of counterfactual reasoning and the
metaphysics of modality. I would like to learn more about Chinese philosophy, especially Mozi, and political philosophy, especially statelessness, self-determination, and secessionist movements.
teaching
I have taught two discussion sections each semester for
Winter 2008 Problems of Philosophy (Jim Joyce)
Fall 2007 Informal Logic (Brian MacPherson)
Winter 2007 Problems of Philosophy (Ian Proops)
Fall 2006 Law and Philosophy (Patrick Grim)
service
During academic year 2007-2008, I am the coordinator for our
graduate student working group. In the same period, I am also the graduate student representative to the departmental executive committee.