Biography — Alex Hortal

Alex Hortal is a Senior Lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University. He holds a PhD in Philosophy (Logic, History and Philosophy of Science) from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED, Spain), and completed both his BA and MA in Philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid.

His academic work lies at the intersection of the philosophy of the social sciences and behavioral economics. His research focuses on the philosophical foundations of Behavioral Public Policy, examining how competing conceptions of rationality — bounded, ecological, and normative — shape the design and ethical evaluation of instruments such as nudges, boosts, sludges, and choice architecture. His work has appeared in journals including Behavioural Public Policy, the Review of Behavioral Economics, the Brazilian Journal of Political Economy, and Behanomics; his research on behavioral strategies for reducing corruption received the Best Research Project in Behavioral Economics prize from the Behavioral Economics Scientific Society.

He is affiliated with the Prague Center for Behavioral Experiments, where he serves as faculty and coordinator of the Behavioral Public Policy and Evolutionary Behavioral Economics track of its summer school, and has previously held academic appointments at High Point University and Appalachian State University. He has also acted as an expert consultant for GlaxoSmithKline on global vaccine-confidence initiatives informed by behavioral science. At Evidentia University of Behavioral and Forensic Sciences, he contributes as a guest speaker on the philosophical foundations of behavioral public policy.

Areas of expertise

Alex Hortal's work centers on philosophy of economics, behavioral public policy, choice architecture, theories of rationality.

Education and affiliations

Alex Hortal holds a PhD in Philosophy (Logic, History and Philosophy of Science) from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain, and completed his BA and MA in Philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.