I am a philosophy professor who interprets the social world and seeks to change it, too. I study the nature and meaning of social categories—things like race, gender, and sexual orientation.
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My current research question is: how do social categories operate in a diverse, fragmented, and ambiguous social world? In a series of papers, I argue that social categories are often indeterminate and scalar (viz., come in degrees).

I received my PhD in Philosophy from MIT in 2017. I received my BA in Philosophy from UNC Chapel Hill in 2012. I specialize in metaphysics and philosophy of language.

Office Phone: (919) 660-3050
Email Address:
Web Page: http://www.kevinrichardson.org/

Education:
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017

Teaching (Fall 2026):

• PHIL 552S.01, Metaphysics Synopsis

  Crowell 108, W 01:40 PM-04:10 PM

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

• Richardson, K. "Neo-Hegelian Idealism." European Journal of Philosophy 34.2 (June, 2026): 441-453. [doi]  [abs]
• Richardson, K. "What Is Factionalism?." Philosophy and Social Criticism (January, 2026). [doi]  [abs]
• Richardson, K. "How to Speak an Alien Language." Journal of the American Philosophical Association (January, 2026). [doi]  [abs]
• Richardson, K. "Logical Inferentialism Implies Logical Idealism." Topoi (January, 2026). [doi]  [abs]
• Richardson, K. "Social Normativity and Social Reasons." Journal of Social Philosophy (January, 2025). [doi]