Joshua Gert

Joshua Gert is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at William & Mary, College of Arts & Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has authored two major books: Brute Rationality: Normativity and Human Action (2004) and Normative Bedrock: Response-dependence, Rationality and Reasons (2012). His research spans practical rationality, metaethics, philosophy of color, and philosophy of language.

• Key Research Themes:
  • Primitivist accounts of color and moral normativity
  • Neopragmatist approaches to semantics and perception
  • Moral psychology and the role of emotions like disgust
  • Response-dependent theories in metaethics
  • Rationality, reasons, and normative strength

Notable Awards:

• George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation Fellowship (2009)
• National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship (2014-15)

Academic Service: Served as co-editor of Social Theory and Practice from 2004 to 2009. Currently developing a book defending color primitivism.