Matt Bedke

Matt Bedke is a Professor and Department Head in the Department of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Arts. He holds a PhD from the University of Arizona (2007) and is a leading scholar in metaethics, normativity, and epistemology. His work bridges first-order ethical inquiry and second-order metaethical analysis, focusing on the semantics, metaphysics, and psychology of normative discourse.

Research Interests: Matt Bedke's primary area is meta-normativity, with deep engagement in metaethics, normative ethics, epistemic normativity, moral epistemology, rationality, and philosophical methodology. He investigates how normative concepts function cognitively and semantically, and how they relate to motivation, truth, and ontology. His work critically examines non-naturalism, naturalism, expressivism, and subjectivism, often through the lens of practical reasoning and moral psychology.

The trends in his recent publications reveal a sustained focus on foundational challenges in metaethics—especially the coherence of non-naturalist views, the nature of normative judgment, and the structure of reasons. His articles frequently address long-standing philosophical puzzles such as the is-ought gap, moral supervenience, and the open question argument, applying both analytic rigor and empirical insights. He advocates for views that preserve the action-guiding character of normativity while offering plausible metaphysical and epistemic grounding.

• Scientific Contributions:
• Developed the “dilemma for non-naturalists” (irrationality vs. immorality).
• Advanced subjectivist accounts of normative judgment (“Practical Oomph”).
• Defended non-descriptive relativism as a viable metaethical position.
• Challenged normative naturalism via semantic and epistemic arguments.
• Explored the phenomenology of agency and free will through experimental philosophy.

Advising and Grants: While specific student names and grant awards are not listed in the provided texts, Bedke is an active researcher who presents at international conferences and publishes in top-tier journals. His role as Department Head and frequent keynote speaker suggests leadership in academic service and mentoring. He likely supervises graduate students in philosophy, particularly those working in ethics, metaethics, and epistemology, though explicit advisee information is not available. His research is supported through institutional funding and academic collaborations.

Labs and Teams: Matt Bedke is affiliated with the Department of Philosophy at UBC and participates in research groups and conferences focused on ethics and metaethics. He collaborates with philosophers internationally, as seen in co-authored work such as 'Phenomenal Abilities' with Oisín Deery and Shaun Nichols. He contributes to collective volumes and interdisciplinary discussions, particularly in experimental philosophy and normative theory.