I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil Discourse at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics and an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. I received my doctorate in political theory from Harvard University in 2024.

My research interests lie at the intersection of political ethics and democratic theory, with a focus on the morality of rule following, rule breaking, and everything in between. My current book project analyzes the reasons agents have for deferring to rules and questions the centrality of formal rules in traditional accounts of procedural justice and legitimacy. It asks whether some uses of rules—specifically, exploiting loopholes, playing hardball, or otherwise gaming the system—might be procedurally unjust or institutionally illegitimate despite technically complying with the procedures of a justifiable social practice. The project develops both a code of applied ethics for political actors who value winning with democratic legitimacy, as well as a set of maxims for institutional designers to make them more robust against exploitation by opportunistic actors.

In addition to my research and teaching, I coordinate the Fellowship in Values Engagement at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. This is a program aimed at building students’ capacity for participating in ethically-charged discussions that students from diverse backgrounds can experience as both inclusive and yet intellectually productive. I am also the coach of the Harvard Ethics Bowl team.

Previously, I worked in science policy and professional ethics in the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights & Law Program in Washington, D.C. Additionally, I spent two years teaching high school English in Memphis, TN as a Teach for America corps member.

I hold a B.A. (Hons.) in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy from James Madison College at Michigan State University.

Email: palmiter@g.harvard.edu