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Teaching Assistant Professor
Director of Outreach

Caldwell Hall, 207A
michael.vazquez@unc.edu
Website

Bio

I am Teaching Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UNC-Chapel Hill. I also serve as Director of Outreach at the Parr Center for Ethics. I received my PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania, where I have continued to serve as a Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education. Prior to my doctoral studies, I received a BA in Philosophy and Humanities from Villanova University (2014) and completed the post-baccalaureate program in Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania (2015).

My primary area of specialization is Ancient Greek & Roman philosophy. I also have teaching and research interests in moral & political philosophy (historical and contemporary) and philosophy of education.

I am an advocate for publicly engaged philosophy and interdisciplinary collaboration. I work with campus and community partners to promote philosophical and humanistic reflection in K-12 schools, community colleges, libraries, prisons, museums, professional organizations, retirement communities, and more. I am also involved in a number of research projects aimed at assessing the impact of philosophy on the cultivation of intellectual and moral virtues in learners across the lifespan. You can find a copy of my CV and learn more about my community engagement efforts on my personal website.

 

Publications

[10] “Kant’s Rejection of Stoic Eudaimonism” in Kant and Stoic Ethics, edited by Melissa Merritt (Cambridge University Press, 2025)

[9] (co-edited with Andree Hahmann) Cicero as Philosopher: New Perspectives on his Philosophy and its Legacy (De Gruyter, 2025)

  • Editors’ Introduction
  • “Cicero in the German Enlightenment” (with Andree Hahmann)
[8] (with Dustin Webster) “Case-Based Reasoning in Educational Ethics: Phronēsis and Epistemic Blinders” Educational Theory vol. 74, no. 4 (2024): 492-511

[7] (with Michael Prinzing) “Does Studying Philosophy Make People Better Thinkers?” Journal of the American Philosophical Association (2024): 1–22.

[6] Review of Tobias Reinhardt, Cicero’s Academici Libri and Lucullus: a commentary with introduction and translations (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2023)

[5] (with Michael Prinzing) “The Virtues of Ethics Bowl: Do Pre-College Philosophy Programs Prepare Students for Democratic Citizenship?” Journal of Philosophy in Schools 10, no. 1 (2023): 25-45

[4] “The Black Box in Stoic Axiology” Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 104 (2023): 78-100.

[3] (with Andree Hahmann) “Ciceronian Officium and Kantian Duty” Review of Metaphysics 75, no. 4 (2022): 667-706

[2] (with Scott Weinstein and Brian Reese) “How can a line segment with extension be composed of extensionless points? From Aristotle to Borel, and Beyond” Synthese 200, no. 85 (2022): 1-28

[1] “Hopeless Fools and Impossible Ideals” Res Philosophica 98, no. 3 (2021): 429-451

 

Public-Facing Writing

[6] “Calling Philosophy Down from the Heavens: The Moral and Civic Imperative of Engaged Philosophy” in Community-Engaged Scholarship: Reflections from Netter Center Alumni, edited by Rita Axelroth Hodges and Michael Zuckerman (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025)

[5] “Mary Astell, Philosopher of Education” (Project Vox Classroom)

[4] (with Kari Lindquist, Delaney Thull, & Aurora Yu) “The Future of Humanities is Public” (EdNc)

[3] (with Alex Richardson) “Looking for a better way to disagree this election season? Look no further than your local high school” (EdNC)

[2] “Deliberating Across the Lifespan” (Chapter in The Ethics Bowl Way: Answering Questions, Questioning Answers, and Creating Ethical Communities)

[1] “Ethics Bowl and Democratic Deliberation” (APA Syllabus Showcase)