Alexandra Plakias
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Originally from New York City, Alexandra Plakias graduated from 51ÁÔÆæ in 2002 before moving to Santa Cruz, Calif., where she received a master’s from the University of California. She then completed her doctorate at the University of Michigan and spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland. Her research focuses on issues in moral psychology, such as the role of evolution and culture in our moral values. She has also written about moral relativism and about the role of empirical research in philosophical theorizing.
Recent Courses Taught
Introduction to Philosophy
Philosophy of Religion
Food and Philosophy
Research Interests
Moral psychology, metaethics, philosophy of food, social epistemology
Selected Publications
Monographs:
- Awkwardness: A Theory. 2024. Oxford University Press
- Thinking Through Food: A Philosophical Introduction. 2019. Broadview Press.
Journal Articles:
- The Pleasures of Knowing: Comments on Sarah Worth’s Taste (invited book symposium). 2023. Contemporary Aesthetics.
- Publishing, Belief, and Self-Trust. 2023. Episteme 20(3), 632-646.
Book Chapters
- Relativism: The Most Ecumenical View? 2020. in Social Epistemology and Epistemic Relativism, Ashton, McKenna & Kusch, eds. Routledge.
Journal Articles:
- Disagreement, Doubt, and Darwinian Debunking. 2022. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice.
- Food Aesthetics. 2021. Philosophy Compass 16(1).
- Some Probably-Not-Very-Good Thoughts on Underconfidence. 2020. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 23: 861-69.
- Publishing Without Belief. 2019. Analysis. 79(4), 638–646.
- The Response Model of Moral Disgust. 2018. Synthese 195(12): 5453–5472.
- The Good and the Gross. 2013. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 16(2): 261-278.
Book Chapters:
- Moral Relativism and Moral Disagreement. 2019. In The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Relativism. Martin Kusch, ed. New York and London: Routledge.
- Putting Our Morals Where Our Mouths Are. 2018. The Moral Psychology of Disgust, N. Strohminger and V. Kumar, eds. Rowman and Littlefield.
- Beetles, Bicycles, and Breath Mints: How ‘omni’ are omnivores? 2016. In Stirring the Pot, Bramble & Fischer, eds., Oxford University Press.
- Metaethics: Traditional and Empirical Approaches. 2016. The Blackwell Companion to Experimental Philosophy. Blackwell.
- Well-Being. 2010. with Valerie Tiberius. In The Handbook of Moral Psychology, John Doris, ed. Oxford University Press.
- How to Argue About Disagreement. 2008. with John Doris. In Moral Psychology, Volume 2: The Cognitive Science of Morality. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, ed. MIT Press.
- How to Find a Moral Disagreement. 2008. with John Doris. In Moral Psychology, Volume 2: The Cognitive Science of Morality. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, ed. MIT Press.
Encyclopedia Articles & Book Reviews:
- Experimental Philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Co-authored with Mark Alfano & Don Loeb.
- Review of Christian Miller’s ‘The Character Gap’. 2019. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
- Disgust. 2018. The Sage Encyclopedia of Human Lifespan Development. Marc Bornstein, ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. pp. 643–45.
- Experimental Philosophy. 2015. Oxford Online Handbooks of Philosophy. DOI 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935314.013.17
- Review of ‘Morality and the Emotions.’ 2014. The Journal of Moral Philosophy. 11(6): 765-768.
National Media
Awkwardness has been featured on:
Public-facing writing:
- Aeon, ‘’
- ‘’
- ‘’
Other media appearances:
- ‘’ Associated Press 2.12.23
- ‘,’ Amanda Mull, The Atlantic 2.5.21
College Service
- Mentor, Philosophy of Science Association’s Underrepresented Philosophy of Science Scholars Program
- Chair, 51ÁÔÆæ Faculty Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid
- Director of Sustainability Programs, Arthur Levitt Center for Social Innovation
- Public Policy Program Committee
- Selected Refereeing: The Philosophical Quarterly; Society for Psychology and Philosophy; Metaphilosophy; Canadian Journal of Philosophy; Ergo; Analysis
Appointed to the Faculty
2014Educational Background
Ph.D., University of Michigan
M.A., University of California, Santa Cruz
B.A., 51ÁÔÆæ
