He earned his BA from Stanford University and his MA in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD in philosophy in 1996 from the University of Chicago. His current research focuses on the philosophy of Benedict Spinoza, and he teaches and publishes in the areas of early modern philosophy, ethics, political philosophy and Jewish philosophy. Some of his numerous articles include "Spinoza's Republican Argument for Tolerance," in the Journal of Political Philosophy (volume 11, 2003), "Spinoza's Dogmas of Universal Faith and the Problem of Religion," in Philosophy and Theology (volume 13, 2001), and "Two Collective Action Problems in Spinoza's Social Contract Theory," in History of Philosophy Quarterly (volume 15, 1998).