Matthew Congdon

I am an assistant professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. I specialize in ethics, social philosophy, and aesthetics. My work is unified by an overarching interest in moral change. I am interested both in how individuals develop their ethical outlooks over time and how social struggles bring about larger-scale, historical changes. Though I focus primarily on making interventions in contemporary philosophical conversations, my work is deeply informed by the history of philosophy, especially Aristotle, G.W.F. Hegel, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. I also have scholarly interests in the ethical writings of twentieth-century philosophers Philippa Foot and Iris Murdoch.

My book, Moral Articulation: On the Development of New Moral Concepts, appeared in 2024 with Oxford University Press. You can hear me talk about the book on episodes of the podcasts Good is in the Details and The Iris Murdoch Podcast.

I am currently working on two new book projects: one on the aesthetic dimensions of our ethical lives with others (taking off from my article, “The Aesthetics of Moral Address,” which you can find in Papers) and another on the philosophy of Iris Murdoch. I am also working on a new series of essays on the rationality of emotions, with a focus upon their role in moral change.

I recently co-edited, with Thomas Khurana, a volume of new essays on the theme of recognition, titled, Recognition: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives, which appeared in Dec. 2025 as part of Routledge’s “Rewriting the History of Philosophy” series.

I am co-editing, with Mark Hopwood, a special issue of The Monist on the theme, “Philosophy After Murdoch.” There is an open call for papers with a deadline of Feb. 1, 2026.

My official Vanderbilt University page can be found here.

matthew.congdon@vanderbilt.edu