Adam Waggoner

My primary research interests are in ancient Greek philosophy, moral psychology, and ethics. My current research draws on ancient Greek and contemporary philosophy to think about how emotions help us navigate the world. I am also interested in artificial intelligence, social-political philosophy, and philosophy of mind.

My dissertation develops an Aristotelian account of the passions, which focuses on how passions shape what is salient to us and motivate us to solve problems. I show how this account can help us provide an Aristotelian model of how self control works, understand why pleasure perfects activity, and shed insight on contemporary debates about the normative significance of emotions.

Outside of these topics, I am especially interested in talking to people about (1) how emotions can help us think about learning in childre, non-human animals, and machines and (2) how social-political institutions shape and are shaped by human emotions.

For abstracts of my dissertation chapters and selected other papers, as well as information about teaching and service, please see my website.