Hi there, and welcome to my personal website. I am a philosopher specialized in the history of Western philosophy. 

My research has focused primarily on seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, who has now become one of the most admired canonical thinkers, and for good reason. Spinoza is profoundly creative, empowering, and modern: he conceived a metaphysics where all things are modes of the infinite and eternal substance ("God or Nature"), an ethics where understanding is a cause of joy and flourishing, and a politics where democracy is the ultimate and absolute form of government. 

Currently I pursue this research as a Solmsen Fellow at the Institute for Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin - Madison. The fellowship supports my book project: Spinoza and the Philosophy of War. Philosophy has a unique significance in its capacity to help us make progress on some of the most difficult and fundamental questions that we can ask, such as on the topic of war.

I hold a PhD from the University of Paris 8. I hold a BA from Cornell University. I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Please feel free to write me at: jckstetter [at] gmail [dot] com, or to connect with me on LinkedIn, PhilPeople, or other social media platforms. 

I am also co-founder of the research seminar: Spinoza à Paris 8.