About Me

I am a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Philosophy at Northwestern University. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Creighton University in Omaha, NE.

My primary research interests are in social & political epistemology. Generally, what role do (and should) social forces and political instituions play in belief-formation and pursuit of higher-order epistemic goods like knowledge, understanding, and wisdom? Specifically, how do varied institutional structures and their associated epistemic norms (e.g., democratic vs capitalistic epistemic norms) impede or support our ability to pursue epistemic goods? I aim to address these questions by leveraging insights from contemporary research in cognitive science, behavioral and social psychology, and sociology.

Previously, my scholarship has followed two stands of thought at the intersection of epistemology and social/political philosophy: (i) how social forces, such as racial inequality and political polarization, impact credibility judgements (e.g., Graham et al. 2023); and (ii) the impact that social/political institutions have on our epistemic conduct (see Larson 2024, Larson 2025).

Outside the academy, I enjoy watching TV sitcoms and superhero movies, reading literary fiction, and trying new food. I also try to write public philosophy essays from time to time, published on my Medium page.

You can contact me at MaddoxLarson (at) u (dot) northwestern (dot) edu.