Matt Pike, a native of Colorado, earned his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Denver. After working several jobs as an I.T. Professional, including as the Webmaster for the CU Bookstore, he entered the Master’s Program in the Philosophy Department at CU Boulder. After one year in the Master’s Program, he was admitted to the Ph.D. Program and received his M.A. in 2009.
His research interests include Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Cognitive Science, Metaphysics, and Logic. Matt has published on the nature of the mind and artificial intelligence, and has presented philosophical papers on such varied topics as: the nature of time, addiction treatment, martial arts and international relations, ancient skepticism, and business ethics. His dissertation develops a new theory of justification, which combines traditional work in epistemology and philosophy of science with contemporary work in cognitive science, experimental psychology, and neuroscience. His interest in these fields and learning about how our minds operate also informs his teaching methodology.
As a Graduate Part-Time Instructor. he has taught: Intro to Philosophy (PHIL1000), Intro to Ethics (1100), Major Social Theories (2200), Intro to Social and Political Philosophy (1200), Intro to Logic (1440), and Symbolic Logic (2440).
For his teaching in these courses, Matt has won the 2015-2016 Morriston Teaching Award from the Philosophy Department, the campus-wide 2014-2015 CU Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Award from the Graduate School, and the 2013-2014 “Best Should Teach” Silver Teaching Award from the Graduate Teacher Program, where he also served as Lead Graduate Teacher.
In addition to philosophy, his life is given meaning by spending time in the mountains; reading sci-fi and fantasy novels; and composing, performing, and recording music.