I am a second-year graduate student in the philosophy department at UCDavis. I have broad philosophical interests, including philosophy of emotion, moral psychology, well-being, philosophy of science, and comparative cognitive science.
Within value theory broadly construed, my research aims to connect the literatures on emotion, well-being, and moral theory, since I believe these aspects all contribute to individual flourishing.
On the scientifically informed side of philosophy, I am especially interested in how philosophers can contribute to the broader study of ethology: in particular, how we should interpret animal behavior at the cognitive level.
I am also intrigued by how different areas of philosophy employ distinct methodological approaches in advancing philosophical debates. For instance, some philosophers of science endorse forms of perspectivalism to address problems arising from incompatible models. I believe philosophers working on well-being could learn from these debates. Along these lines, I am currently collaborating with Qiannan Li and Alex Lau on a co-authored project defending a perspectivalist approach to well-being.
I can be reached via email at dbydai[at]ucdavis.edu. I also keep a philpeople profile!