Philosophical Research

Dr. Matt Pike

Research

Primary Areas of Interest

My research interests include Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mind / Cognitive Science, Metaphysics, and Logic. I have published on the nature of the mind and artificial intelligence, and presented philosophical papers on such varied topics as: the nature of time, addiction treatment, martial arts and international relations, ancient skepticism, and business ethics. My dissertation developed a new theory of justification, which combines traditional work in epistemology and philosophy of science with contemporary work in cognitive science, experimental psychology, and neuroscience. My interest in these fields and learning about how our minds operate also informs my teaching methodology.

Current Project

Most proponents of a naturalistic approach to epistemology seem to feel forced to endorse a process reliabilist theory of justification, ostensibly to forestall charges that their naturalistic views can yield only a descriptive account of belief that is devoid of normative force. This reliabilist approach to justification depends upon an externalist grounding, holding that belief-fixing and sustaining processes and procedures are reliable because they generally produce beliefs that are objectively true.  I explore some of the problems for the standard externalist approach that naturalists usually favor, and then show that, while the frequent conjoining of naturalist epistemology and process reliabilism found in the literature might lead one to believe that there are strong implications from epistemic naturalism to externalism, there is in fact a largely unexplored philosophical space that combines naturalized epistemology and justificatory internalism. A version of process reliabilism that is compatible with both naturalism and internalism is then developed and defended from several potential objections. This theory of justification demonstrates that internalism concerning epistemic justification is more compatible with naturalistic epistemological commitments than has previously been noted, and that many naturalists, perhaps having failed to fully consider this option, may have been too hasty in adopting externalist views of justification.

Publications / Research

2019 “Some Thoughts on Counterfeit Quantum Indeterminacy in Competing Neural Processes”, Southwest Philosophy Review, 2019 (forthcoming).

2017 Doctoral dissertation: "Caught in the Web: Internalizing a Naturalist Theory of Epistemic Justification", CU Boulder.

2010    "Sextus Empiricus: Ancient Epistemology and the Fuzziness of Truth" CU Humanities Third Annual Cross-Disciplinary Consortium, April 16, 2010

2009    "Can Metal Be Mental?" in Transformers and Philosophy (Open Court, Popular Culture and Philosophy series) http://www.opencourtbooks.com/books_n/transformers.htm

2006    (with Dr. Candice Shelby), "The Addicted Mind", Contemporary Philosophy, Vol. XXVII, No. 1 & 2, pp. 76-84.

2003    "Strong Ethics, Right Training Can Boost The Bottom Line", Denver Business Journal, August 29, 2003.

Presentations

2019 “Time and Neuroscience: An Objection to Tensed Theories of Time”
American Philosophical Association meeting (Central division)

2018 “Some Thoughts on Counterfeit Quantum Indeterminacy in Competing Neural Processes”
Southwestern Philosophical Society conference

2016 “Teaching Contentious Topics”
CU Graduate Teacher Program Fall Intensive

2014 "Time and Neuroscience: An Objection to Tensed Theories of Time”
Mountain Plains Conference, University of Reno, NV

2014 “Using Technology to Encourage Classroom Participation and Collaboration”
CU Graduate Teacher Program, Lead Graduate Teacher Training

2011 Comments on “Common Knowledge and Communication”
Mountain Plains Philosophy Conference, CU Denver

2010    "Sextus Empiricus: Ancient Epistemology and the Fuzziness of Truth"
CU Humanities Third Annual Cross-Disciplinary Consortium, April 16, 2010

2010    "Aikido, War, and the Role of the New Warrior"
American Philosophical Association meeting (Pacific division)
San Francisco, April 1 2010

2010    "Aikido: a martial arts approach to international relations?"
CU Philosophy Club- Invited Speaker Series
University of Colorado at Boulder, April 17, 2010

2008    "Neuroscience and the Philosophy of Time"
CU Philosophy Club- Invited Speaker Series
University of Colorado at Boulder, November 19, 2008

2008    "Epistemology, Certainty, and Technology"
CU Philosophy Club- Invited Speaker Series
University of Colorado at Boulder, March 12, 2008

2006    "The Addicted Mind"
New Directions in the Humanities International Conference
Athens, Greece, May 30, 2006

2003    "Ethics Beyond Compliance"   (Invited Presentation)
Japha Symposium on Business and Professional Ethics
Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado at Boulder, October 23, 2003

Matt Pike

7/3/19: I am thrilled to have accepted a position as an Instructor at the University of Colorado at Denver! I was extremely impressed by the students and community when last I was there, and am excited to be returning to now teach all the core classes for the UCD Philosophy of Science Minor!

5/6/16: I'm honored to be the first person to receive both the CU Boulder Philosophy Department Morriston Teaching Award (2016) and the University of Colorado-Boulder Graduate Teaching Excellence Award (2014-2015)! My thanks go out to the many great teachers and students with whom I've been lucky enough to learn!

Office Hours: By appointment
Location: Remote via Zoom

Please feel free to drop by with any questions, or simply to chat about philosophy, life, the universe and everything...

© Copyright Matthew Pike 1999-2022