Jimmy Licon

Jimmy Alfonso Licon is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University.

Originally from Sacramento, California, he did his undergraduate studies in Davis and earned his graduate degrees (in philosophy) in San Francisco and near Washington, D.C. Before joining ASU, he was an Emergent Ventures Fellow (postdoc) at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and taught philosophy at Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, and Towson University.

His research examines ethical and epistemic questions involving signaling, aspiration, and ignorance. He is the author of Better Not to Know: Why Knowing Less Is Sometimes Best (forthcoming, Peter Lang), which draws on philosophy, economics, and moral psychology to explore how ignorance can be beneficial in personal, economic, moral, and political life.

Licon’s current projects include papers on how politics amplifies the moral hazards of artificial intelligence and robotics, and on how moral disagreement often reflects our desire to signal loyalty to our social groups. He also works on topics in the philosophy of religion and philosophy of law, including the rational and aspirational bases for theism, the epistemic attitudes appropriate to religious practice, and the evidential value of exceptions to the hearsay rule as hard-to-fake and costly signals.

In addition to his academic research, Licon writes widely for public audiences and on philosophical pedagogy. His essays have appeared in venues such as the American Institute for Economic Research, The Pamphlet, Mises Wire, Marion West, Free Inquiry, and Faculty Focus, where he explores themes in ethics, epistemology, and political economy in an accessible style. He also develops innovative approaches to teaching philosophy using AI tools.

Outside of academia, Licon hosts Uncommon Wisdom, a Substack, podcast, and YouTube channel that shares philosophical, ethical, and economic insights for a broader audience. In his spare time, he enjoys country music and classic rock, stand-up comedy, and combat sports. He lives with his wife, a prosecutor, in Apache Junction at the foot of the Superstition Mountains. He also abides.