Paul L. Franco

Since 2012, I have taught in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Washington-Seattle under a variety of titles. I'm now Teaching Professor, and on sabbatical for 2026-2027. From 2022-2026, I was Director of Graduate Studies (or Graduate Program Coordinator) for my department. Since 2022, I've been the Treasurer for the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, or HOPOS.

My research is in the history of analytic philosophy, history of philosophy of science, philosophy of science, and their intersections. This means I'm also interested in philosophy of language, mainly from a historical perspective (though teaching keeps me abreast of recent trends).

Teaching widely informs my research. When not on sabbatical, I teach 5-7 courses a year. Most regularly, I teach Intro, Intro to Ethics, Modern, Philosophy of Language, and History of Analytic Philosophy. I've taught grad seminars on conceptions of analysis in 20th c. philosophy, the history of analytic metaethics, and the history of values in science.

Before UW, I taught at Haverford College for a couple of years. I also taught at the University of Pennsylvania, where I earned my PhD in 2011. My brother and sister have PhDs in actual science rather than philosophy of science. We're first-generation college grads who were born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, where our amazing parents still live. My primo made the New Mexico-themed hat I'm wearing in my picture. And the banner image was painted by my wife, Erin Kendig.