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Bioethics & Philosophy of Psychopathology
Publications (forthcoming/under contract, published)
  • “Neuroscience of narrative and perspective-taking: implications for stigma towards those experiencing psychosis” with Pérez-Gay Juarez, F. (under contract) De Brigard, F., & Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (Eds.) Neuroscience & Philosophy. MIT Press.
  • “The over-medicalization of mental disorder, suffering, & meaning-making” (under contract) Lougheed, Kirk (Ed.) Suffering and Meaning-Making: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Brill.
  • "Narrative & Spiritual Meaning-making in Mental Disorder”. (2023) International Journal for Philosophy of Religion - link to article
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  • "Mental Disorder, Meaning-making, & Religious Engagement" (2022) TheoLogica - link to article
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  • “Potential Iatrogenic Effects of Returning Individual Research Results from Digital Phenotyping in Psychiatry”, (forthcoming) American Journal of Bioethics
In progress (provisionally accepted, under review, in preparation)
  • “Madness-as-strategy or Madness-as-dysfunction: embodied narratives of madness & clinical implications”, (invited) Journal of Medicine & Philosophy
  • "Supernatural Etiologies of Mental Disorder & Meaning-making (under review)
     

  • "Mad Pride & Hermeneutic Injustice" (in preparation) - draft available upon request!

  • "The Failure of the 'Broken Brain': the impact of computational metaphors on views and experiences of psychopathology (in preparation)

  • "Etiological Beliefs & Meaning-making in Mood Disorders" (in preparation)

  • "Inter-religious Differences in Religious Scrupulosity: religious obsessions & compulsions in Christianity, Islam, & Judaism" (in preparation) 

  • “Adoption, Abortion, & Integrity: The Demands of Integrity for Opponents of Abortion”. (2022) In Pregnancy and Persons. Routledge - link to article
Grants
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  • Grant, co-PI, Duke University ($26,684)"Prosocial & Emotional Effects of Narratives: The Role of Perspective-taking Brain Networks" 2022-2023 with Fernanda Pérez Gay Juarez, Samantha Fede, Rodrigo Diaz, and Laura Matthews

This project will study the effects of engaging with narratives on different measures which track increases in empathy and decreases in stigma. First, we will test the effect of non-fictional texts, non-fictional first-person narratives, and literary fiction narratives about experiences of psychotic disorders on the aforementioned measures. Afterward, to test the neurocognitive mechanisms behind these effects, we will run a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation experiment where we will inhibit the right Temporoparietal Junction, a cardinal region in perspective-taking processes, while subjects engage with the texts, and assess the effects of this intervention on these measures.

  • Grant, PI, New Visions in Theological Anthropology, University of St. Andrews ($26,209) | "Emotional Stability & Religious Engagement" 2022-2023
     

  • Grant, PI, Global Health Program, Hope College ($14,600) | "Narratives of Mental Disorders in Religious Communities" 2022 with Stephanie Pangborn and student research collaborators Brooke Bennett and Emily Davidson

  • Grant, PI, Calvin University ($17,896) | "Mental Disorder & Psychological Stability in Christianity" 2022

  • Grant, PI, Blueprint 1543 ($14,644) | "Transformative Narratives of Mental Disorder & Religion" 2021

  • Grant, Towsley research scholars grant, Hope College ($58,000) | "Explorations of Neurodiversity, Embodiment, and Religious Engagement" 2022-2025 
     

  • Grant, Nyenhuis student-faculty collaborative research grants (x3), Hope College ($22,064) | 2022 - with Christina Chiazza, 2021 - with Megan Jacobs, 2020 - with Emma Passaglia 

  • "A Defense of Cognitive Penetration & the Face-Race Lightness Illusion" Philosophical Psychology (2022) - full article

Cognitive Penetration holds that cognitive states and processes, specifically propositional attitudes (e.g., beliefs), sometimes directly impact features of perceptual experiences (e.g., the coloring of an object). In contrast, more traditional views hold that propositional attitudes do not directly impact perceptual experiences, but rather are only involved in interpreting or judging these experiences. Understandably, Cognitive Penetration is controversial and has been criticized on both theoretical and empirical grounds. I focus on defending it from the latter kind of objection and in doing so, highlight important features of Cognitive Penetration mechanisms and effects. I first sketch promising criteria for Cognitive Penetration and then address widespread Replication and Demonstration worries about purported instances of it. Next, I present one of the most compelling Cognitive Penetration studies and address specific objections against it and others. I demonstrate that each of these objections misunderstands important features of either Cognitive Penetration mechanisms or the specific studies to which they are applied. Ultimately, I conclude that multiple key studies are not undermined by these objections and continue to provide support for Cognitive Penetration. Correcting these misunderstandings bolsters empirical support for Cognitive Penetration and contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in perceptual processing.

  • Grant, PI, Duke University ($28,203) | "Group Membership Modulation of Memory and Judgments for Morally Ambiguous Actions" 2022-2023 with Ryan Daley, Cecilia Forcato, Lauren Kaczer, Marina Trakas, Laura Soter

It is unknown how group membership biases memory and subsequent third-person judgments of agents’ morally ambiguous actions: when it is unclear whether agents have moral and/or immoral motivations for acting. Biased memories and subsequent moral evaluation of others’ actions can lead to practical and epistemic harms (mnemonic injustice). This phenomenon will be investigated in the current study, testing group membership manipulation on participants’ memory for agents’ motivations and subsequent moral judgements.

Philosophy of Cognitive Science & Philosophy of Technology
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  • “The Ethical and Social Dimensions of Computing in Engineering”. (forthcoming) with Odle, B., Longfield, V., & Serrao, R. In Bias & Machine Learning. McGraw-Hill.
  • “Embodied Cognition & the Grip of Computationalism” (forthcoming) Ergo.
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  •  “A Module on Ethics and Social Implications of Computing for Introductory Engineering Computing Courses”. (2022) with Odle, B. American Society for Engineering Education.
  • Mnemonic Injustice: How Social Embeddedness Shapes Moral Memory (in progress)
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Other Philosophy of Cognitive Science & Philosophy of Religion
  • "Narrative, Theology, and Philosophy of Religion." Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Religion. Wiley-Blackwell (2021) with Seachris, J. - full article

In this entry, we survey key discussions on the role of narrative in theology and philosophy of religion. We begin with epistemological questions about whether and how narrative offers genuine understanding of reality. We explore how narrative intersects with the problems of evil and divine hiddenness. We discuss narrative's role in theological reflection and practice in general, and in black and feminist theologies specifically. We close by briefly exploring the role of narrative in theorization about life's meaning.

  • "Philosophy of Mind." T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Christian Theology. T&T Clark / Bloomsbury (2021)
  • "Petitionary Prayer: A Philosophical Investigation, by Scott Davison." Faith and Philosophy (2019) - full article
  • "Ritualized Faith: Essays on the Philosophy of Liturgy, by Terence Cuneo." Religious Studies Review (2019) - full article
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