Matthew Congdon
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Director of Graduate Studies
I am a philosopher specializing in ethics, social philosophy, and aesthetics. I write about emotions, interpersonal recognition, moral change, the aesthetics of interpersonal ethical life, and the intersections of ethics and epistemology. My work on these topics has appeared in The Philosophical Quarterly, Analysis, Philosophy, The European Journal of Philosophy, Episteme, and Philosophical Topics, amongst others.
My book, Moral Articulation: On the Development of New Moral Concepts appeared in 2024 with Oxford University Press. I am currently working on a few new projects: one is a book project on the rationality of emotions, which focuses on their role in moral change. Related to this is an ongoing research interest in the aesthetic dimensions of our ethical lives with others. I am also working on several new essays on the philosophy of Iris Murdoch.
Recently taught graduate seminars: Genealogies of Morals (Fall 2026), Iris Murdoch and 20th-Century Philosophy (Spring 2026), Philosophy of Emotion (Spring 2025), Moral Psychology (Fall 2023 and Spring 2020), History of Ethics (Spring 2021), and Wittgenstein, Skepticism, and Language (Spring 2022).
Recently taught undergraduate courses: On Lying and Deception (co-taught with Prof. Scott Juengel), Intro to Ethics, History of Aesthetics, Contemporary Ethical Theory, Philosophy of Language.
Specializations
Ethics, Social Philosophy, and Aesthetics
Representative Publications
BOOKS
Moral Articulation: On the Development of New Moral Concepts (Oxford University Press, 2024).
Recognition: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives, co-edited with Thomas Khurana (Routledge, 2026)
SELECTED ARTICLES
“Does Morality Require an Ahistorical Core? Replies to Diehl, Ebels-Duggan, and Bennett.” Analysis (2026)
Replies to Gehrman, Hopwood, and Mac. Syndicate (2026)
“Philosophies of Recognition: An Introduction” co-authored with Thomas Khurana, Recognition: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives, ed. Matthew Congdon and Thomas Khurana, Routledge (2026)
“Changing Our Nature: Ethical Naturalism, Objectivity, and History,” Philosophy (2023)
“Does Moral Philosophy ‘Leave Everything as It Is?’” Analysis (2022).
“The Aesthetics of Moral Address,” Philosophical Topics (2021).
"The Struggle for Recognition of What?" European Journal of Philosophy (2020).
"Creative Resentments: The Role of Emotions in Moral Change," The Philosophical Quarterly (2018).
“‘Knower’ as an Ethical Concept: From Epistemic Agency to Mutual Recognition,” Feminist Philosophy Quarterly (2018).
“What’s Wrong With Epistemic Injustice?” Routledge Handbook to Epistemic Injustice, ed. Ian James Kidd, José Medina, and Gaile Pohlhaus, Jr (Routledge, 2017).
“Wronged Beyond Words: On the Publicity and Repression of Moral Injury,” Philosophy & Social Criticism (2016).
“Epistemic Injustice in the Space of Reasons,” Episteme 12:1 (March 2015).