Rate My Professor Ryan Muldoon

Ryan Muldoon is Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo. He received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, with a thesis titled “Diversity and the Social Contract,” an MA in Philosophy from the same university in 2006, and BS degrees in Mathematics and Philosophy with Honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003. Muldoon joined the University at Buffalo in 2015 as Assistant Professor and Faculty Fellow in the Community of Excellence for Global Health Equity, advancing to Associate Professor in 2018 and full Professor in 2024. Previously, he was Senior Fellow in the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) Program at the University of Pennsylvania (2013-2015), where he also served as Acting Director in 2012 and Postdoctoral Fellow (2011-2013), and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, University of Western Ontario (2009-2011). He contributed as a Core Author to the World Bank's 2015 World Development Report and has collaborated on projects with UNICEF.

Muldoon's research focuses on social and political philosophy, philosophy of science, epistemology, ethics, and the interdisciplinary PPE field, with an emphasis on developing New Diversity Theory, first outlined in his 2016 book Social Contract Theory for a Diverse World: Beyond Tolerance (Routledge). This work explores how diverse political, cultural, and scientific communities can cooperate beneficially, addressing diversity, social norms, behavior change, and international development ethics. Key publications include “The Paradox of Diversity” (Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, 2018), “Harnessing Diversity, Dynamism, and Discovery” (2024, in New Approaches to Social Contract Theory), “Reasoning Qua Citizen and the Dangers of Idealization in Public Reason” (Public Affairs Quarterly, 2022), and articles in Synthese, Journal of Political Philosophy, and Philosophical Studies. He has secured grants such as NSF funding (2017-2020, Co-PI, $123,773) and Mercatus Fast Grant (2022, PI, $20,000). Muldoon holds editorial positions as Co-Editor of the Oxford University Press PPE book series (2020-present) and Associate Editor of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (2023-present), and directs the PPE Program at UB (2020-present).