About
Emma Hardy is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Michigan. She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Michigan in 2026 and holds bachelor’s degrees with honors in philosophy and psychology from Loyola Marymount University.
Her research asks how social practices shape the categories through which we understand the world, how those categories acquire social meaning, and how they influence the ways we live together. She explores these questions primarily through the philosophy of food, bringing social metaphysics and ethics into conversation with food studies and the realities of contemporary food systems. Her dissertation, “Cultivating a Fruitful Metaphysics of Food,” examines how practices and institutions shape what counts as food, what “local food” means, and how food practices contribute to the people we become.
Her work is grounded in sustained engagement with farmers markets and other food institutions, and she writes and speaks for both academic and public audiences. She is also a member of the Culinary Mind Center for the Philosophy of Food.
Outside of philosophy, she enjoys cooking, reading, sailing, and spending time with her two cats.
