5XÉçÇø

Michael Byron is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at 5XÉçÇø, where he has held an appointment since 1997. He earned an A.B. cum laude in religion from (1986) and an M.A.R. magna cum laude in ethics from (1990). Between those degrees he spent two years teaching English, literature, and drama at in Taichung, Taiwan.

After receiving his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the in 1996, he spent a year at The Ethics Center of the supported by a Frances Elvidge Post-doctoral Fellowship. During 2004–05, he was Visiting Fulbright Scholar in Philosophy at in Hong Kong. He has served as Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Kent State since 2018.

His research interests include normative ethical theory, rational choice theory, and the history of ethics. His books include:

1. (monograph, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).
2. (edited volume, Cambridge University Press, 2004).
3. (textbook co-authored with Deborah Barnbaum, Prentice Hall, 2001).

He has published journal articles in ethical theory, metaethics, the history of ethics, and theory of rationality. His most cited articles are:

1. "," Ethics 109 (1998): 67–93.
2. "," Teaching Philosophy 28 (2005): 105–113.
3. "," Analysis 65 (2005): 311–315.
4. "," Knowledge, Technology & Policy 23 (2010): 135–147.
5. "," Journal of Social Philosophy 31 (2000): 307–315.

Most recently, he published "Hobbes on Submission to God," in the Blackwell (2021).

At Kent State, he often teaches Introduction to Formal Logic, Ethical Theory, Metaethics, and Ancient  Philosophy. He is past president of the , former chair of the , and former Executive Board Member of the . He has served as Sovereign (chief executive) of the since 2018. His current research project explores the coherence of Kant's late conception of virtue.