Samuel Z. Elgin

Samuel Z. Elgin serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego, where he has taught since 2020. His interdisciplinary work connects philosophical foundations with political theory through rigorous logical analysis.

His academic background includes:

• BA from Reed College (2011)
• PhD from Yale University (2018)

Elgin's research centers on metaphysical foundations and logical frameworks, specializing in modality, moral philosophy, and truth-maker semantics applications to property identity and reduction puzzles. He investigates definition theory through higher-order logic while contributing to philosophy of mathematics and epistemic closure debates. His publications appear in The Journal of Philosophical Logic, Synthese, Erkenntnis, and Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, reflecting his commitment to bridging abstract philosophical concepts with tangible political implications.

At UCSD, Elgin teaches large-enrollment courses including Ethics and Society I/II, Critical Reasoning and Consumption, and Symbolic Logic. His pedagogy emphasizes evidence evaluation, argument construction, and ethical reasoning in contemporary contexts like AI ethics, climate policy, and political dissent. Course structures integrate classical philosophy (Plato, Hobbes) with modern movements including effective altruism and revolutionary theory.