Matt Stichter

Professor Matt Stichter is a faculty member in the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs at Washington State University. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University (2007), along with MA and BA degrees in Philosophy from Bowling Green State University and Vanderbilt University, respectively.

His research focuses on the intersection of moral psychology, virtue ethics, and the philosophy of expertise, particularly the 'virtue-as-skill' thesis. This framework conceptualizes virtue development as a process akin to skill acquisition, grounded in psychological research on self-regulation and cognitive science. He emphasizes practical knowledge as essential to moral behavior, comparing virtues to ethical expertise.

Stichter’s recent work explores wisdom as a metacognitive virtue, addressing critiques of redundancy in wisdom models and linking emotion regulation to moral improvement. His publications span journals like Topoi, Journal of Moral Education, and Review of General Psychology, with a notable book The Skillfulness of Virtue (2018).

Key themes in his research include:

• Metacognitive processes in moral and epistemic improvement
• Self-regulation and deliberate practice in virtue development
• Emotion differentiation as a tool for overcoming shame in moral failure
• Connections between moral motivation and goal-oriented frameworks

His interdisciplinary approach bridges philosophy with psychology, examining how virtues function as skills within broader conceptions of living well.