
Professor Eliot Michaelson
Professor of Philosophy
Research interests
- Philosophy
Biography
Dr Eliot Michaelson received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 2013. Before joining King's, he spent the 2013-14 academic year as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University. His undergraduate training was split between the University of Chicago, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 2005, and Deep Springs College, where he received an Associate of Arts degree in 2001.
Research interests and PhD supervision
- Philosophy of Language
- Philosophy of Mind
- Ethics
Dr Michaelson works primarily on core topics in philosophy of language, like meaning and reference. He also works on the border of philosophy of language and ethics, on issues pertaining to lying and insincerity. He maintains independent research interests in the nature of skills, the metaphysics of colour, and the ethics of eating.
Dr Michaelson welcomes enquiries from students seeking supervision in his areas of interest.
Teaching
Dr. Michaelson regularly teaches modules on philosophy of language and environmental ethics, and occasionally teaches on other subjects in philosophy.
Expertise and engagement
Dr Michaelson is the co-creator, with the actor James Franco, of the Philosophy Time web series. These videos can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCURj_t8MSVNkal7OYxu_FgQ.
Against the Locutionary Thesis
Radulescu, A. & Michaelson, E., 4 Dec 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: ANALYSIS.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Online Communication: Problems and Prospects
Mallory, F. & Michaelson, E., 1 Jul 2024, In: PHILOSOPHY. 99, 3, p. 409-412 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
On Retweeting
Michaelson, E., Pepp, J. & Sterken, R., 24 May 2024, The Oxford Handbook of Applied Philosophy of Language. Oxford University Press, p. 613 630 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Inbetweeners: On Theories of Language Neither Ideal nor Non-Ideal
Michaelson, E., 25 Feb 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: ANALYSIS. 84, 3, p. 645-656 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
What is the Proper Function of Language?
Michaelson, E., 2024, In: Inquiry. 67, 8, p. 2791-2814 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Fake News and Fictional News
Pepp, J., Sterken, R. & Michaelson, E., 22 Dec 2023, The Routledge Handbook of Fiction and Belief. James, A., Kubo, A. & Lavocat, F. (eds.). New York: Routledge, p. 220-235Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Fake News and Fictional News
Pepp, J., Sterken, R. & Michaelson, E., 1 Jan 2023, The Routledge Handbook of Fiction and Belief. Taylor and Francis AS, p. 220-235 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review of Talking About: An Intentionalist Theory of Reference
Michaelson, E., 6 Nov 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Should Moral Intuitionism go Social?
Michaelson, E., Eklund, M. & Backes, M., 7 Dec 2023, In: NOUS. 57, 4, p. 973-985 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The Vagaries of Reference
Michaelson, E., 17 Jul 2023, In: Ergo, an Open Access Journal of Philosophy. 9, 52Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Tolerating Sense Variation
Michaelson, E. & Textor, M., 23 Feb 2023, In: AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY. 101, 1, p. 182-196 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Unspeakable Names
Michaelson, E., Feb 2023, In: SYNTHESE. 201, 2, 66.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Meta-Metasemantics, or the Quest for the One True Metasemantics
Michaelson, E. & Nowak, E., 1 Jan 2022, In: PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY. 72, 1, p. 135-154 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
On Salience-Based Theories of Demonstratives
Michaelson, E. & Nowak, E., 17 Mar 2022, Salience: A Philosophical Inquiry. RoutledgeResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Reference
Michaelson, E. & Reimer, M., 21 Jun 2022, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Zalta, E. N. (ed.). Summer 2022 ed. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford UniversityResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Relevance-based knowledge resistance in public conversations
Michaelson, E., Pepp, J. & Sterken, R., 24 May 2022, Knowledge Resistance in High-Choice Information Environments. Taylor and Francis Ltd, p. 106-127 22 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Speaker's Reference, Semantic Reference, Sneaky Reference
Michaelson, E., 16 Nov 2022, In: Mind & Language. 37, 5, p. 856-875 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Why We Should Keep Talking about Fake News
Michaelson, E., Pepp, J. & Sterken, R., 27 Mar 2022, In: Inquiry. 65, 4, p. 471-487 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Daylight savings: what an answer to the perceptual variation problem cannot be
Michaelson, E. & Cohen, J., Mar 2021, In: PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 178, 3, p. 833-843 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Lying, deception, and epistemic advantage
Michaelson, E. & Stokke, A., 21 Apr 2021, The Routledge Handbook of Social and Political Philosophy of Language. Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 109-124 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review of How to Count Animals, More or Less
Michaelson, E., 1 Oct 2021, In: PHILOSOPHICAL REVIEW. 130, 4, p. 601-605Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Who’s Your Ideal Listener?
Nowak, E. & Michaelson, E., 3 May 2021, In: AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Discourse and Method
Michaelson, E. & Nowak, E., 19 Mar 2020, In: LINGUISTICS AND PHILOSOPHY. 43, 2, p. 119-138 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The Big Shill
Simpson, R. & Michaelson, E., 1 Dec 2020, In: RATIO. 33, 4, p. 269-280 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Critical Notice of New Work on Speech Acts
Michaelson, E. & Brisinger, E. V., 23 Sept 2019, (E-pub ahead of print) In: ANALYSIS.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
What's New About Fake News?
Pepp, J., Michaelson, E. & Sterken, R. K., 11 Nov 2019, In: Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy. XVI, 2, p. 67-94Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Ethics for Fish
Michaelson, E. & Reisner, A., 14 Jan 2018, (E-pub ahead of print) The Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics. Barnhill, A., Budolfson, M. & Doggett, T. (eds.).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Lying: Language, Knowledge, Ethics, and Politics
Michaelson, E. (Editor) & Stokke, A. (Editor), 25 Oct 2018, Oxford University Press.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Lying, Testimony, and Epistemic Vigilance
Michaelson, E., 22 Nov 2018, The Oxford Handbook of Lying. Oxford University Press, p. 214-228Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review of A Naive Realist Theory of Colour
Michaelson, E., 1 Jul 2018, In: ANALYSIS. 78, 3, p. 580-583Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
The Lies We Tell Each Other Together
Michaelson, E., 25 Oct 2018, Lying: Langauage, Knowledge, Ethics, and Politics. Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Act Consequentialism and Inefficacy
Michaelson, E., 2016, Food, Ethics, and Society. Oxford University Press, p. 212-216Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
A Kantian Response to Futility Worries?
Michaelson, E., 2016, Food, Ethics, and Society. Oxford University Press, p. 217-220Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Doing Without Believing: Intellectualism, Knowledge-How, and Belief-Attribution
Brownstein, M. & Michaelson, E., 29 Sept 2016, In: SYNTHESE. 193, 9, p. 2815-2836 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Introduction for Inquiry Symposium on Imagination and Convention
Armstrong, J. & Michaelson, E., 15 Feb 2016, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Inquiry. 59, 2, p. 139-144Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Review of About the Speaker
Michaelson, E., Apr 2016, In: MIND. p. 562-565Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Review of Lying, Misleading, and What is Said: An Exploration in Philosophy of Language and Ethics
Michaelson, E., 2016, In: Journal of Moral Philosophy. 13, p. 491-494Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
The Lying Test
Michaelson, E., Sept 2016, In: Mind & Language. 31, 4, p. 470-499Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Against the Locutionary Thesis
Radulescu, A. & Michaelson, E., 4 Dec 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: ANALYSIS.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Online Communication: Problems and Prospects
Mallory, F. & Michaelson, E., 1 Jul 2024, In: PHILOSOPHY. 99, 3, p. 409-412 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
On Retweeting
Michaelson, E., Pepp, J. & Sterken, R., 24 May 2024, The Oxford Handbook of Applied Philosophy of Language. Oxford University Press, p. 613 630 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
The Inbetweeners: On Theories of Language Neither Ideal nor Non-Ideal
Michaelson, E., 25 Feb 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: ANALYSIS. 84, 3, p. 645-656 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
What is the Proper Function of Language?
Michaelson, E., 2024, In: Inquiry. 67, 8, p. 2791-2814 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Fake News and Fictional News
Pepp, J., Sterken, R. & Michaelson, E., 22 Dec 2023, The Routledge Handbook of Fiction and Belief. James, A., Kubo, A. & Lavocat, F. (eds.). New York: Routledge, p. 220-235Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Fake News and Fictional News
Pepp, J., Sterken, R. & Michaelson, E., 1 Jan 2023, The Routledge Handbook of Fiction and Belief. Taylor and Francis AS, p. 220-235 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review of Talking About: An Intentionalist Theory of Reference
Michaelson, E., 6 Nov 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Should Moral Intuitionism go Social?
Michaelson, E., Eklund, M. & Backes, M., 7 Dec 2023, In: NOUS. 57, 4, p. 973-985 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The Vagaries of Reference
Michaelson, E., 17 Jul 2023, In: Ergo, an Open Access Journal of Philosophy. 9, 52Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Tolerating Sense Variation
Michaelson, E. & Textor, M., 23 Feb 2023, In: AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY. 101, 1, p. 182-196 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Unspeakable Names
Michaelson, E., Feb 2023, In: SYNTHESE. 201, 2, 66.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Meta-Metasemantics, or the Quest for the One True Metasemantics
Michaelson, E. & Nowak, E., 1 Jan 2022, In: PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY. 72, 1, p. 135-154 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
On Salience-Based Theories of Demonstratives
Michaelson, E. & Nowak, E., 17 Mar 2022, Salience: A Philosophical Inquiry. RoutledgeResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Reference
Michaelson, E. & Reimer, M., 21 Jun 2022, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Zalta, E. N. (ed.). Summer 2022 ed. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford UniversityResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Entry in encyclopedia/dictionary › peer-review
Relevance-based knowledge resistance in public conversations
Michaelson, E., Pepp, J. & Sterken, R., 24 May 2022, Knowledge Resistance in High-Choice Information Environments. Taylor and Francis Ltd, p. 106-127 22 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Speaker's Reference, Semantic Reference, Sneaky Reference
Michaelson, E., 16 Nov 2022, In: Mind & Language. 37, 5, p. 856-875 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Why We Should Keep Talking about Fake News
Michaelson, E., Pepp, J. & Sterken, R., 27 Mar 2022, In: Inquiry. 65, 4, p. 471-487 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Daylight savings: what an answer to the perceptual variation problem cannot be
Michaelson, E. & Cohen, J., Mar 2021, In: PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES. 178, 3, p. 833-843 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Lying, deception, and epistemic advantage
Michaelson, E. & Stokke, A., 21 Apr 2021, The Routledge Handbook of Social and Political Philosophy of Language. Taylor and Francis Inc., p. 109-124 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review of How to Count Animals, More or Less
Michaelson, E., 1 Oct 2021, In: PHILOSOPHICAL REVIEW. 130, 4, p. 601-605Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Who’s Your Ideal Listener?
Nowak, E. & Michaelson, E., 3 May 2021, In: AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Discourse and Method
Michaelson, E. & Nowak, E., 19 Mar 2020, In: LINGUISTICS AND PHILOSOPHY. 43, 2, p. 119-138 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
The Big Shill
Simpson, R. & Michaelson, E., 1 Dec 2020, In: RATIO. 33, 4, p. 269-280 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Critical Notice of New Work on Speech Acts
Michaelson, E. & Brisinger, E. V., 23 Sept 2019, (E-pub ahead of print) In: ANALYSIS.Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
What's New About Fake News?
Pepp, J., Michaelson, E. & Sterken, R. K., 11 Nov 2019, In: Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy. XVI, 2, p. 67-94Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Ethics for Fish
Michaelson, E. & Reisner, A., 14 Jan 2018, (E-pub ahead of print) The Oxford Handbook of Food Ethics. Barnhill, A., Budolfson, M. & Doggett, T. (eds.).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Lying: Language, Knowledge, Ethics, and Politics
Michaelson, E. (Editor) & Stokke, A. (Editor), 25 Oct 2018, Oxford University Press.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
Lying, Testimony, and Epistemic Vigilance
Michaelson, E., 22 Nov 2018, The Oxford Handbook of Lying. Oxford University Press, p. 214-228Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Review of A Naive Realist Theory of Colour
Michaelson, E., 1 Jul 2018, In: ANALYSIS. 78, 3, p. 580-583Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
The Lies We Tell Each Other Together
Michaelson, E., 25 Oct 2018, Lying: Langauage, Knowledge, Ethics, and Politics. Oxford University PressResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Act Consequentialism and Inefficacy
Michaelson, E., 2016, Food, Ethics, and Society. Oxford University Press, p. 212-216Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
A Kantian Response to Futility Worries?
Michaelson, E., 2016, Food, Ethics, and Society. Oxford University Press, p. 217-220Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Doing Without Believing: Intellectualism, Knowledge-How, and Belief-Attribution
Brownstein, M. & Michaelson, E., 29 Sept 2016, In: SYNTHESE. 193, 9, p. 2815-2836 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Introduction for Inquiry Symposium on Imagination and Convention
Armstrong, J. & Michaelson, E., 15 Feb 2016, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Inquiry. 59, 2, p. 139-144Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Review of About the Speaker
Michaelson, E., Apr 2016, In: MIND. p. 562-565Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
Review of Lying, Misleading, and What is Said: An Exploration in Philosophy of Language and Ethics
Michaelson, E., 2016, In: Journal of Moral Philosophy. 13, p. 491-494Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review › peer-review
The Lying Test
Michaelson, E., Sept 2016, In: Mind & Language. 31, 4, p. 470-499Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review