David R. Koepsell, J.D./Ph.D.
Instructional Associate Professor of Philosophy
Texas A&M University
I work in philosophy of law, ethics, and formal ontology, developing structural frameworks for legal reasoning, obligation, contradiction, and institutional repair. Law, on this view, is not merely a set of rules but an architecture of roles, recognitions, powers, and failures that can be modeled, diagnosed, and repaired.
Intellectual Background
My work begins from dissatisfaction with approaches that treat law and ethics as purely linguistic or normative abstractions. Instead, I approach legal and moral systems as structured realities composed of roles, obligations, permissions, powers, and failures sustained by institutional recognition.
A recurring theme across my work is contradiction not as a logical error but as a structural condition. Legal systems fail when recognitions misalign, authorities overreach, or obligations lack correlates, producing structural contradiction debt that demands repair.
Education
- Ph.D., Philosophy — University at Buffalo (SUNY)
- J.D. — University at Buffalo School of Law
- B.A., Political Science & English (Honors) — University at Buffalo
Academic Appointments
- Texas A&M University — Instructional Associate Professor of Philosophy
- Texas A&M International University — Online Adjunct Instructor
- Delft University of Technology — Tenured Associate Professor (2008–2014)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México — Visiting Professor
Writing & Publications
I am the author and editor of books and articles in philosophy of law, ethics, scientific integrity, and technology, including work on AI, institutional reasoning, and legal ontology.
View publications on Google Scholar →Research Programs
Structural Ontology of the Law
A formal ontology of legal systems grounded in roles, authority, recognition, obligation, contradiction, and repair.
Explore the project →The Geometry of the Good
A relational ontology of ethics modeling moral obligation as a structured field shaped by recognition and directedness.
Explore the project →IRAC+
A structurally grounded extension of IRAC that integrates legal ontology and contradiction diagnostics into legal reasoning.
Launch IRAC+ →Applied & Creative Systems
Canonical Adventure Markup Language (CAML)
A formal markup language for representing Dungeons & Dragons adventures, narrative structure, and gameplay state.
CAML on GitHub →Everdice
An online Dungeons & Dragons system that uses CAML to support campaign management and live play.
Contact
301 YMCA Building
College Station, TX 77840
drkoepsell@tamu.edu