Richard Lauer

Visiting Assistant Professor Philosophy Department
Education

PhD Philosophy
University of Missouri - Columbia

MA Philosophy
University of Missouri - St. Louis

BA Political Science
Columbus State University

Richard Lauer

Richard received his BA in Political Science with a minor in philosophy from Columbus State University in 2008, his MA in philosophy from the University of Missouri - St. Louis in 2011, and his PhD in philosophy from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 2016. He specializes in the philosophy of the social sciences, the philosophy of economics, and the philosophy of biology. He also has a strong background in ethical theory, particularly political philosophy and questions about egalitarian justice. 

Richard's work is focused on questions about the interpretation and justification of theories in the social sciences. He has published on philosophical questions about race and its use in social science and the use of "social ontology" (a philosophical subdiscipline focused on trying to show whether groups, institutions, or other social things are real) as a way of improving the foundations of the social sciences. In fact, Richard has had some of his work discussed in a recent issue of Philosophy of the Social Sciences featuring contributions from prominent philosophers in his subdiscipline. See: https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/posa/51/1

For more information about Richard, feel free to visit his website.

Contact Information

Office Hours

Tuesday and Thursday 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, Extension (Phone): 5663