Matt Haber
Matt Haber
I am a philosopher of biology at the University of Utah. My home is the Department of Philosophy, where I served as Chair from 2015-2021. I also have affiliate appointments in the School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Health, Society, and Policy (among others).
My primary area of research is in philosophy of biology, with a focus on phylogenetic systematics. Lately I've been writing about how genealogical discordance both complicates and enriches how we think about and study divergence and diversification in biology. Here's an online module I helped develop for high school students to learn about these issues.
My work intersects with traditional philosophy as well as contemporary biological research, and much in-between. This is reflected in the citation patterns of my research, where you’re as likely to see it cited in empirical biological work as by other philosophers. (One of my favorite recent citations of my work is in this paper about navigating genomic discordance in butterflies.)
I am very lucky that I get to spend time with my biology colleagues as an embedded philosopher of biology in the Clayton/Bush lab. They made my favorite door sign.
I also maintain a research interest in bioethics. Much of that happens with my (awesome) undergraduates in my Philosophy of Biology Lab. I learned to appreciate the value of running a philosophy lab while a graduate student at UC Davis, where I studied with Jim Griesemer.
You can contact me at matt.haber[at]utah.edu