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, one of the most admired canonical philosophers, 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. 

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. The discipline of philosophy helps us make progress on the difficult but fundamental questions, such as on the topic of war. This is one of the main reasons why engaging philosophy remains important today.

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 contact me at: jckstetter [at] gmail [dot] com, or to connect over LinkedIn, PhilPeople, or other social media platforms. 

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