Expertise:
Race and Ethnic Politics, Race and Ethnicity, Philosophy of Mind, Cognitive Science, Implicit Bias, Implicit Bias Training, Implicit Bias & Politics, Philosophy of Race and Feminism, Social and Political Philosophy, ConsciousnessIn his research and writing, Alex Madva investigates the role of implicit and explicit bias on social justice, social identity and prejudice. In his recent scholarship and implicit bias training, he demonstrates how research on more hidden and implicit forms of prejudice can help to explain the current resurgence of political division and overt forms of bigotry. He also examines moral responsibility as he takes on the issues of implicit bias, stereotypes, the Black Lives Matter movement and the death penalty. He is currently co-editing two books. One is a textbook titled An Introduction to Implicit Bias: Knowledge, justice and the Social Mind that includes examinations of how implicit biases relate to beliefs, desires and intentions, how they compromise social reality, how they impact our social and political institutions, and how those influences can be combatted. The second book, The Movement for Black Lives: Philosophical Perspectives, draws together a diverse range of philosophers to better understand the Movement’s underpinnings, structure, and aims.
Recent Grants and Fellowships:
- Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley, 2012-14
Selected Publications:
- With M. Brownstein and D. Kelly, “Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change,” The MIT Press (Sept. 16, 2025)
- “Integration, Community, and the Medical Model of Social Injustice,” Journal of Applied Philosophy (2019)
- “Equal Rights for Zombies? Phenomenal Consciousness and Responsible Agency,” Journal of Consciousness Studies (forthcoming 2019)
- With V. Seyranian, N. Abramzon, N. Duong, Y. Tibbetts and J.M. Harackiewicz, “The Longitudinal Effects of STEM Identity and Gender on Flourishing and Achievement in College Physics,” International Journal of STEM Education (forthcoming 2019)
- “The Inevitability of Aiming for Virtue,” in Overcoming Epistemic Injustice (B. R. Sherman & S. Goguen, eds., Rowman and Littlefield, forthcoming 2019)
- “Social Psychology, Phenomenology, and the Indeterminate Content of Unreflective Racial Bias,” in Race as Phenomena (E. S. Lee, ed., Rowman and Littlefield, forthcoming 2019)
- With M. Brownstein, “Stereotypes, Prejudice, and the Taxonomy of the Implicit Social Mind,” Noûs, 52(3), 611–644, 2018
- “Implicit Bias, Moods, and Moral Responsibility,” Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 99(S1), 53–78, 2018
- With M. Cholbi, “Black Lives Matter and the Call for Death Penalty Abolition,” Ethics, 128(3), 517–544, 2018
- “Biased against Debiasing: On the Role of (Institutionally Sponsored) Self-Transformation in the Struggle against Prejudice,” Ergo, an Open Access Journal of Philosophy, 4(6), 145–179, 2017
- With G. Del Pinal and K. Reuter, “Stereotypes, Conceptual Centrality and Gender Bias: An Empirical Investigation,” Ratio, 30(4), 384–410, 2017
- “Why implicit attitudes are (probably) not beliefs,” Synthese, 193(8), 2659–2684, 2016
- “Implicit Bias and Latina/os in Philosophy,” APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, 16(1), 8–15.
- “Virtue, Social Knowledge, and Implicit Bias, in Implicit Bias and Philosophy: Metaphysics and Epistemology: Volume 1 (pp. 191–215) (M. Brownstein & J. Saul, eds., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016)
Interviews:
- “The Golden Age of Protest is Now,” MIT Press Reader, Oct. 24, 2025
- “Beyond Either-Or Thinking: How Individuals and Systems Drive Social Change,” The Good Men Project, Oct. 14, 2025
- “Somebody Should Do Something | Dr. Alex Madva on Talk Radio Europe,” Talk Radio Europe, Oct. 14, 2025
- “Why We Don’t Act and How to Change That,” Immigrantly Podcast, Oct. 14, 2025
- “Somebody Should Do Something (Part 1) New book by Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva and Dan Kelly,” The Dr. Anotida Chikumbu – BOOK SERIES, Oct. 14, 2025
- “Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change,” IVY, Oct. 8, 2025
- “Common Ground: ‘Somebody Should Do Something’ w/ Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva, & Daniel Kelly,” The Westport Library Common Ground Initiative, Oct. 7, 2025
- “Two philosophy professors on how societal change can start with individual behavior,” Cambridge Day, Oct. 5, 2025
- “The Democrats’ shutdown strategy is terrible. Here’s a better one.” Vox, Oct. 1, 2025
- “Michael Brownstein & Alex Madva SOMEBODY SHOULD DO SOMETHING: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change,” Forthright Radio (Mendocino County Public Broadcasting), Sept. 25, 2025
- “Mornings with Zerlina,” SiriusXM Progress: Progressive Talk Radio Channel 127, Sept. 23, 2025
- “Individual Choices, Challenges, and Social Changes,” Good is in the Details, Sept. 16, 2025
- “How the Texas Democrats’ walkout gained them political capital,” “Hello Houston,” Houston Public Media 88.7-FM, Sept. 15, 2025
- “Somebody Should Do Something,” The Good Society, Sept. 11, 2025
- “Paris on Politics: NYTimes Op Ed: Why Texas Dems’ Walkout Worked,” FOX 32 Chicago, Sept. 3, 2025
- “Why the Texas Democrats’ Walkout Worked,” The New York Times, Aug. 29, 2025
- “A Rude Awakening,” KPFK-FM 94.1, Aug. 29, 2025
- “Interview with the Authors of Somebody Should Do Something (Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva, and Daniel Kelly),” Sociology Group (UC Berkeley), Aug. 18, 2025
- “Who’s responsible for solving the world’s problems—me, or The System?” — The Philosopher’s Zone (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Aug. 14, 2025
- “Want to Make a Difference? Strategies from Somebody Should Do Something,” Business Talk, Aug. 14, 2025
- “The FiloLab 2025 International Summer School on climate change, science communication, and public opinion concludes,” Ideal, July 22, 2025
- “The Alhambra and the climate crisis: how individuals are driving structural change,” La Nación, July 20, 2025
- “Moral progress is annoying,” Aeon, June 21, 2024
- “Ending Capital Punishment Before Another Life is Lost, ” Harvard Political Review, July 22, 2020
- “CSUF, UCI and Cal Poly Pomona professors team up for study to fight bias, racism in social media,” Orange County Register, June 24, 2020
Education:
B.A., Philosophy and English; M.A., M.Phil. & Ph.D., Philosophy; Columbia University
Languages:
English