Ismail Kurun

Graduate Student

Ismail is a PhD candidate in Philosophy. His research interests lie in social and political philosophy and Islamic philosophy. His research is often interdisciplinary, bringing social science to bear on philosophical questions.

His dissertation project is on the epistemology of liberalism and the liberalization of nonliberal societies. It articulates the epistemological commitments of public reason liberalism, explores the epistemic character of liberal societies, and develops a model of philosophical liberalization with regard to nonliberal societies.

In addition, Ismail has research interests in the philosophy of AI and is an AI scholar at VALIANT, Vanderbilt's AI lab, where he focuses on the impact of AI on key liberal values. Specifically, he's exploring the ways in which AI can be a risk to or an opportunity for political freedom in contemporary liberal democracies.

His broader interests span ethics, social epistemology, ancient philosophy, pragmatism, early modern philosophy, philosophy of science, and the history of analytic philosophy. His MA thesis explored the medieval origins of liberalism.

For more on Ismail's work, please visit www.ismailkurun.com