Carrie Figdor: September 2013

Carrie Figdor is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Iowa. She received her B.A. in political science from Swarthmore College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the City University of New York Graduate Center. She works primarily in philosophy of mind and philosophy of cognitive science (including psychology and neuroscience), and metaphysics. As a former newswoman for The Associated Press and other news organizations, she also writes on issues in journalism ethics and science communication, in particular regarding public understanding of neuroscience results. She is currently a research fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, writing a book in philosophy of cognitive science, Pieces of Mind: A Humanistic Defense of Mechanistic Explanation of Mind. The book develops a theoretical foundation for scientific efforts to explain the mind-brain relationship by drawing on features and concepts of processes that importantly distinguish them from objects and object concepts. She is the author of articles in The Journal of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Neuroethics, The Journal of Mass Media Ethics, and other publications.

Figdor is a member of the APA’s Committee on the Status of Women, an executive committee member of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology and the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, and co-host of the podcast series New Books in Philosophy (www.newbooksinphilosophy.org).