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Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership - Student Profiles

 

Biography

I am a first year Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge, Queens' College. Prior to moving to Cambridge, I received a B.A. in philosophy from University College London, and a B.Phil in philosophy from the University of Oxford (University College).

I am generally interested in the nature of perception. My doctoral work develops a version of a theory called Naive Realism. That theory is pretty commonsensical, but is deeply at odds with what contemporary science textbooks tell us about the matter of perception-they all seem to think that we perceive the world by 'constructing our own representations of it'. I think perception is much more direct than that--we don't construct mental representations of the world; the world just floods right in.

In addition to the philosophy of perception (and the philosophy of mind more broadly), I am interested in contemporary metaphysics and in the history of philosophy.

I am working on a series of papers for publication based on my B.Phil thesis and based on some work I have already completed for my Ph.D. thesis. These concern some fundamental problems in the metaphysics of persons and regarding the nature of perception. I hope that at least some of them will be out soon.

In spare time I read the work of the early 20th Century philosophers of perception: Moore, Price, Russell, etc., and the Early Modern Philosophers, especially Berkeley.

When not doing philosophy, I like to read other things, e.g., general history, literature. I also spend a good deal of time listening to classical music, and I am learning German.

Department: Philosophy
Supervisor: Prof. Tim Crane, Prof. Rae Langton
College: Queens' College
AHRC Subject Area: Philosophy
Title of Thesis: Perception and Reality (Working Title)
Mr Alexander Paul Moran

Affiliations