M Folescu
I am a non-binary historian of philosophy, philosopher of language and mind, and freelance art writer, working as an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Missouri. In first name contexts I go by "M", pronounced like "Em", and my pronouns are "they/them". I earned my PhD in Philosophy at the University of Southern California (2013). Before starting graduate school in philosophy, I studied art history in Bucharest, Romania (BA, 2002) and London, Canada (MA, 2005). Much like G. E. Moore, beside common sense philosophy, I enjoy the simple pleasures of life: gardening, hiking, running in sandals, watching films, and going to art shows. You can read my critiques of some of these, by clicking on Art Writing.
NEWS:
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I'm currently (June-August 2025) a Visiting Researcher in the Philosophy Department at Hamburg University, courtesy of​ a Renewed Research Stay Fellowship, awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
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On July 2nd, 2025, I presented "Locke's Legacy: Reid and Shepherd on Intuitive, Demonstrative, and Probable Knowledge" (forthcoming in The Oxford Handbook of John Locke, edited by Patrick J. Connolly), at Hamburg University's Philosophy Colloquium.
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On June 13th, 2025, Stephan Schmid (Hamburg) and I organized a workshop on my book manuscript: Thinking through the Past: Thomas Reid on the Epistemic Value of Memory.
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My paper "Mary Shepherd on the Role of Proofs in Our Knowledge of First Principles" has been recognized by Noûs as a top cited paper for the year 2022-2023.
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