Zoe Ashton

Lecturer in Philosophy at   The Ohio State University

Email: ashton.95@osu.edu

Office: University Hall, 338

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About Me

I'm currently a senior lecturer at OSU where I finished my PhD in philosophy and my MS in statistics in 2024. 

My research interests are primarily at the intersection of mathematics and philosophy. I'm particularly interested in epistemology of mathematics, science, and statistics. I am also interested in using mathematical and statistical techniques to explore philosophical questions. Much of these interests are informed, and inspired, by my experiences in mathematics and statistics. 

Research

Mathematical Audiences 

The overarching theme of my research is that mathematical practice is influenced by encountered and imagined audiences. In past work, I've argued that these audiences play a central role in mathematical proof, problem choice, and argumentation in mathematics (with Andrew Aberdein).

Mathematical Rigor

Most recently, I've developed a new account of mathematical rigor called the audience view. Roughly, the audience view states that a proof is rigorous when it convinces the right kind of audience. These audiences vary by field, culture, and time period. Using that account, I've started examining how epistemic injustices might arise in rigor judgments through historical examples. Please email me if you're interested in manuscripts on these topics. You can read my short column on it here. 

Statistics & Philosophy

I'm also interested in the intersections between statistics and philosophy. I'm interested in how statistical explanation works in scientific practices. I'm particularly interested in how phenomena like regression to the mean get their explanatory power.

With Moti Mizrahi, I've used statistical methodology to inform philosophical questions about intuition talk and the a priori nature of philosophy. 

Teaching

In Spring 2025, I'm teaching Engineering Ethics for a Diverse & Just World and Engineering Ethics. My Engineering Ethics sections are all distance learning.

As instructor of record at OSU I've taught: