Department of Philosophy

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Taylor Matthews

PhD Student and Teaching Affiliate,

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Biography

I'm a third year PhD student in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. Before that, I did my MA at University College London (UCL) and my BA at the University of Reading.

Expertise Summary

I research primarily in virtue and vice epistemology. More specifically, my work looks at the relationship between intellectual character and epistemic virtues and vices.

Teaching Summary

2022 - Social Philosophy (PHIL2008): leading seminars in social metaphysics and social epistemology.

2022 - Social and Global Justice (POLI2034): leading a second-year module in political philosophy (School of Politics)

2021 - Tutor with the Scholar's Programme (Brilliant Club), teaching small groups of school pupils about my research, devising curricula, and marking homework.

2020/21 - Knowledge and Justification (PHIL2010): I lectured on the the nature of intellectual vice, virtue epistemology, and epistemic injustice.

Research Summary

My PhD thesis contributes to the growing field of vice epistemology - the study of the nature and significance of intellectual vices. Intellectual vices are character traits, attitudes, and… read more

Current Research

My PhD thesis contributes to the growing field of vice epistemology - the study of the nature and significance of intellectual vices. Intellectual vices are character traits, attitudes, and sensibilities that impede inquiry, prevent the acquisition of knowledge, understanding, or true beliefs, and make us bad 'knowers'. Typical examples include dogmatism, arrogance, close-mindedness and intellectual laziness.

My PhD investigates the way our intellectual character is 'corrupted' by epistemic vices. It asks: 1) what is the nature of intellectual character? 2) How do epistemic vices take hold in our our epistemic agency; 3) How ought we construe the harm done to our intellectual character when we develop epistemic vices; 4) Can collectives or institutions develop a corrupted epistemic character? 4)

Department of Philosophy

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

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