Richard Moore
I am a philosopher of mind, language, and psychology. I'm interested in how human minds and cultures came to be. That means I work on a range of issues connected to human and animal minds - particularly the ways in which different species (mostly humans and great apes, but also dogs) think and communicate, and in philosophical and empirical issues connected to human (biological and cultural) evolution and human nature.
I am a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. My Communicative MindLink opens in a new window research group investigates two related questions about the nature and origins of human cognition: (1) Why are humans the only species to invent and acquire natural languages? (2) How does natural language change human cognition?
I joined the Department of Philosophy at the University of Warwick in February 2020. I previously worked at the Berlin School of Mind and BrainLink opens in a new window, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (2013-2019) and in Mike TomaselloLink opens in a new window's Department of Developmental and Comparative PsychologyLink opens in a new window at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (2009-2013). I have also been a visiting researcher at the Australian National University (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022) and at the Fachhochschule Potsdam (2019).
I completed my PhD at Warwick in 2010, under the supervision of Michael LuntleyLink opens in a new window, Susan HurleyLink opens in a new window, and Steve ButterfillLink opens in a new window.
In addition to being Professor in the Department of Philosophy, I am also Director of Warwick's EPP (Economics, Psychology and Philosophy) BA/BSc degree. Along with Bart Geurts I organise the monthly online forum for Evolutionary Pragmatics. I'm also a co-founder and board member of PAMBALink opens in a new window - the Philosophy of Animal Minds and Behavio(u)r Association; and I'm the current director of the Groups Network.
I work much better behind the scenes, so I try to avoid putting pictures of myself online.
Selected Publications
- Geurts B, Moore R (Eds.) (2025) Evolutionary PragmaticsLink opens in a new window. Oxford University Press.
- Moore, R (2025) Information seeking in humans and great apesLink opens in a new window: A commentary on Kliesch (2025). Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
- Moore R, Tennie C (2025) Know-how copying is fundamental to human cultureLink opens in a new window. A response to Kim Sterelny's 'Cultural evolution, niche construction, and ecological inheritance'. BJPS Letters to the Editors.
- Moore R, Palazzolo G (2024) Animal communicationLink opens in a new window. In Zalta & Nodelman (Eds.) The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Graham K, Rossano F, Moore R (2024) The origin of great ape gestural formsLink opens in a new window. Biological Reviews.
-
Coverage in Carl Zimmer's Origins column in the New York Times:
-
- Moore, R (2024) 'Gricean' and 'Ladyginian' communication: A distinction in search of a difference. PsyArXiv, 10.31234/osf.io/mab5e.
- Berio L, Moore R (2023) Great ape enculturation studies: A neglected resource in cognitive development researchLink opens in a new window. Biology and Philosophy, 38(17).
- Moore R, Brown, R (2022) Social inheritance and the social mind: Introduction to the Synthese topical collection on The Cultural Evolution of Human Social Cognition. Synthese, 200(3), 1-17.
- Kachel G, Moore R, Hepach R, Tomasello M (2021) Toddlers prefer adults as informants: Two- and three-year-olds’ use of and attention to pointing gestures from peer and adult partners. Child Development.
- Moore R (2021) The cultural evolution of mind-modelling. Synthese, 199(1): 1751-1776.
- Moore R (2018b) Gricean communication, language development, and animal minds. Philosophy Compass, 13(12), e12550.
- Moore R (2018a) Gricean communication, joint action, and the evolution of cooperation. Topoi, 37(2), 329–341.
- Kachel G, Moore R, Tomasello M (2018) Two-year-olds use adults’ but not peers’ points. Developmental Science, 21(5), e12660.
- Kano F, Moore R, Krupenye C, Tomonaga M, Hirata S, Call J (2018) Great apes search for longer following humans’ ostensive signals, but do not then follow their gaze. Animal Cognition, 21(5), 715-728.
- Moore R (2017c) Social cognition, Stag Hunts, and the evolution of language. Biology and Philosophy. 32(6): 797–818.
- Moore R (2017b) Convergent minds: Ostension, inference and Grice’s third clause. Interface Focus, 7: 20160107.
- Moore R (2017a) Gricean communication and cognitive development. Philosophical Quarterly, 67(267): 303-326.
- Moore R (2016) Meaning and ostension in great ape gestural communication. Animal Cognition, 19(1): 223-231.
- Moore R, Call J, Tomasello M (2015) Production and comprehension of gestures between orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) in a referential communication game. PLoS ONE, 10(6): e0129726.
- Moore R, Mueller B, Kaminski J, Tomasello M (2015) Two-year-old children but not domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) understand communicative intentions without language, gestures, or gaze. Developmental Science, 18(2): 232-42.
- Moore R (2014) Ape gestures: Interpreting chimpanzee and bonobo minds. Current Biology, 24(14): R645-R647.
-
Moore R (2013b) Social learning and teaching in chimpanzees. Biology and Philosophy, 28(6): 879-901.
- Moore R (2013a) Imitation and conventional communication. Biology and Philosophy, 28(3): 481-500.
More complete lists of my publications can be found here.