Faculty Profiles

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Dr. Vaughn Bryan Baltzly

  • Associate Professor - Philosophy
Portrait of Dr. Vaughn Bryan Baltzly

Biography and education

Vaughn Bryan Baltzly is an associate professor of philosophy at Texas State University. He earned graduate degrees at the University of Maryland in both public policy (focusing on international development policy under the tutelage of Carol Graham) and political philosophy (writing a dissertation supervised by William Galston and Christopher Morris). After completing graduate studies, and before coming to Texas State in 2016, Vaughn spent more than six years employed by the U.S. federal government. His civil service was split evenly between the executive branch (where he was a Presidential Management Fellow at the Department of Veterans Affairs) and the legislative branch (where he was a senior analyst in housing policy at the Government Accountability Office).

Teaching Interests

Research Interests

  • Baltzly, V. B. (2024). Two (Lay) Dogmas on Externalities. Public Choice, 201(3–4), 471–494. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-024-01167-z
  • Baltzly, V. B. (2021). Trolleyology as First Philosophy: A Puzzle-Centered Approach to Introducing the Discipline. Teaching Philosophy, 44(4), 407–448. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil202141143
  • Baltzly, V. B. (2020). Concerning Publicized Goods (Or, the Promiscuity of the Public Goods Argument). Economics and Philosophy, 37(3), 376–394. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267120000395
  • Baltzly, V. B. (2014). “Four Strikes for Pluralist Liberalism (and Two Cheers for Classical Liberalism).” Journal of Value Inquiry, 48(3).
  • Baltzly, V. B. (2012). “Same-sex Marriage, Polygamy, and Disestablishment.” Social Theory and Practice, 38(2).
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Lenssen Prize, American Association of Philosophy Teachers. March 18, 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Favorite Professor Award, Spring 2019, Alpha Chi National Honor Society, Texas State chapter. April 9, 2019
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Rockefeller Prize, American Philosophical Association. December 29, 2014
  1. Member

    College of Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee

  2. Participant

    College of Liberal Arts Research Committee

  3. Participant

    SMART Orchestra (the San Marcos community orchestra)

  4. Member

    Department of Philosophy Graduate Education Committee

  5. Other

    Texas State Ethics Bowl Team

  6. Officer

    San Marcos High School Orchestra Boosters Club

  7. View all activities