Raffaella De Rosa

Raffaella De Rosa

Department of Philosophy
Rutgers University
Newark, NJ 07102
Phone number: 973-353-1857
Email: gabri@andromeda.rutgers.edu

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Area of Specialization: Early Modern Philosophy

Areas of Competence: Philosophy of Mind; Philosophy of Language; Cognitive Science; Continental Philosophy

Research Languages: Italian; French; Latin; Ancient Greek

Education

2002 Rutgers University. PhD in Philosophy

Dissertation: Innate Ideas and Intentionality:  Descartes vs Locke.

Committee: Martha Bolton (chair), John Cottingham (external reviewer), Frances Egan, Brian Loar

2002 Certificate in Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

1994-1995 Oxford University, Graduate fellow at University College (MURST Scholarship). Advisor: Dr William Child in philosophy of mind and language

1994, Laurea (summa cum laude) in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Pisa, Italy

 
Employment

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

 Fall of 2007-present: Member of the Graduate Faculty, Department of Philosophy

Rutgers University – Newark, Newark, NJ

2018-present: Full Professor and Chair

2016-present: Full Professor

2012-present: Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy

2011-2012: Associate Professor and Acting Chair, Department of Philosophy

2009-present: Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy

2004-2008: Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy 

2004-present: Member of the Graduate Faculty, Department of Psychology

      

University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

2002-2004: Assistant professor, Department of Philosophy

 

Visiting Positions

 St Petersburg State University, New York Institute, Russia

Summer 2009, July 6-July 26

Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

Spring of 2007: Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy. (Invited Position)

 
Publications

 

Books

2010, Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation, Oxford University Press (Hardcover). Paperback Edition in Fall 2013.

Peer Reviewed Articles:

  • 2017 “Descartes and the Curious Case of the Origin of Sensory Ideas” in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Volume 97, Issue 3. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/phpr.12421
  • 2015 “René Descartes: Sensory Representations.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Philosophy. Ed. Duncan Pritchard. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195396577-0272
  • 2011 “Rethinking the Ontology of Cartesian Essences” in British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Vol.19, 4, July 2011, pp.605-622.
  • 2009 “Cartesian Sensations” in Philosophy Compass, Volume 4, Issue 5, September 2009, pp. 780-792.
  • 2007 “The Myth of Cartesian Qualia”, in Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Vol.88, Issue 2, 2007, pp. 181-207.
  • 2007 “A Teleological Account of Cartesian Sensations?” in Synthese, Vol. 156, 2007, pp. 317-342.
  • 2005 “Prinz’s Problematic Proxytypes”, in The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol.55, No. 221, 2005, pp. 595-606.
  • 2004 “Descartes on Sensory Misrepresentation: the Case of Materially False Ideas”, in the History of Philosophy Quarterly, Vol.21, n3, 2004, pp. 261-280.
  • 2004 “The Question-Begging Status of Locke’s Anti-Nativist Arguments”, in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Vol.69, n1, 2004, pp. 37-64.
  • 2000 “On Fodor’s Claim that Classical Empiricists and Rationalists Agree on the Innateness of Ideas”, in An International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, Vol.14, 2000, pp. 240-269.

 

Invited contributions (also refereed):

  • 2016 “Locke’s Critique of Innatism” in Matthew Stuart (ed.), in The Blackwell Companion to Locke, Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 157-174.
  • 2013 “Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation: Precis” in Analytic Philosophy, 54 (1): 93-96. (For a book symposium on Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation)
  • 2013 “Replies to Vinci and Nelson” in Analytic Philosophy, 54 (1): 117-128 (For a book symposium on Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation)
  • 2004 “Quine’s Holisms” [co-authored with Ernest Lepore], in Roger Gibson (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Quine, Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. 65-90. Reprinted in Nirmalaya Narayan Chakraborty and Madhucchanda Sen (eds) Empiricism and The Two Dogmas, Rabindra Bharati University, 2006, pp.18-45.
  • 1999 “Is There a Problem about Davidson’s Externalism vis-à-vis His Holism?”, in M. De Caro (ed.), Interpretations and Causes. New Perspectives on Donald Davidson’s Philosophy, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999, pp. 201-216.

Conference Proceedings:

 

(1) 1996, “Donald Davidson: the Problem of Meaning between Truth and Interpretation” (Translation from: “Donald Davidson: Il Problema del Significato tra Verita’ e Interpretazione”), in C. Penco e G. Sarbia (eds), Alle Radici Della Filosofia Analitica, Erga Edizioni, 1996. These are the Proceedings of the SIFA (Italian Society of Analytic Philosophy).

Book Reviews

 

(1) 2008 “Review of Cecilia Wee’s Material Falsity and Error in Descartes’s   Meditations” in The Journal of the History of Philosophy, vol.46, 4, 2008, pp.641-642.

 

(2)   2007 “Review of Lex Newman (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Locke’s “Essay Concerning Human Understanding, in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (in pre

(3) 2002 “Review of Cowie’s What’s Within? Nativism Reconsidered”, in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Issue 1, 2002, pp.119-122.

(4)  1995 “Review of Putnam’s Words and Life”, in Philosophical Books, vol.36, 4, 1995, pp.267-270.

Translations

Translation (with Daniel Garber) of Emanuela Scribano “Hume e Spinoza sulla relazione di causa and effetto” into English (“Hume and Spinoza on the relation of cause and effect”), in Daniel Garber and Steven Nadler (eds.), Oxford Studies in Early Modern Philosophy Volume 4, Oxford University Press, December 2008.

 

Submitted Work

 

Is The Science of the Mind an Experimental Science? Descartes and Malebranche on the Nature of Mind (submitted to The British Journal of the History of Philosophy)

 

 

Work in Progress 

“The dispute between Descartes and Malebranche on Knowledge of Mind, eternal essence and the proof of the existence of an external world” (with Sean Greenberg), forthcoming in the Blackwells Campanion to Malebranche

(30 pages)

“The Self-luminousness of consciousness: Locke’s awareness principle as a defense of an empiricist account of the origin of ideas” (30 pages)

 

Presentations

 2023, “The dispute between Descartes and Malebranche on Knowledge of Mind, eternal essence and the proof of the existence of an external world” University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, April 2023. 2022, “Is the science of the mind an experiential science? Descartes and Malebranche on knowledge of the Mind,” NY/NJ workshop in early modern philosophy, November 2022. 2022, “Is the science of the mind an experiential science? Descartes and Malebranche on knowledge of the Mind,” Princeton-Bucharest Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, Bucharest, October 14-16, 2022.  2017, Rutgers Newark “Representational Nativism and the evidence from neuroscience”, Colloquium Series, Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience.  2017, Halifax, Canada. Dalhousie University, Atlantic Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, “Descartes and the Innateness of Sensations” August 4-6, 2017.  2017, Miami, USA. University of Miami, Department of Philosophy, Colloquium Series, “Descartes and the Curious Case of the Origin of Sensory Ideas,” April 7, 2017. 2016, Lecce, Italy. Contribution to a workshop on the entry “Sensatio” to the Nouvel Index Scolastico-Cartesien, Vrin, 2017 edited by Igor Agostini, Chiara Catalano, Siegrid Agostini, Ilaria Coluccia and Emanuela Orlando. University of the Salento, Department of Philosophy, Center for Cartesian Studies, July 21-24. 2016, University of Oxford, Oxford Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Mansfield College, “Descartes and the Curious Case of the Origin of Sensory Ideas,” March 14-15. 2015, University of the Salento, Department of Philosophy, Center for Cartesian Studies, Italy, “Descartes and the Curious Case of the Origin of Sensory Ideas” July 6. 2015,  Helsinki, Finland, “Descartes’ Arguments for the Innateness of Sensations,”  University of Helsinki, Philosophy Department, April 17, 2015. 2015, Vancouver, Canada, “Descartes on Material Falsity”, First Meeting of the Descartes Society at the Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division, April 1-5, 2015. 2015, Edmonton, Canada, “Descartes’ Arguments for the Innateness of Sensations,” University of Alberta, Department of Philosophy, Colloquium Series, March 12, 2015. 2014, Urbana Champaign, USA, “Descartes’ Arguments for the Innateness of Sensations,”  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Philosophy, Colloquium Series, November 7, 2014. 2014, Milwaukee, USA. “Descartes’ arguments for the Innateness of Sensations” Midwest Early Modern Conference, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Sep-26-28, 2014. 2014, Lecce, Italy. Author-meets-critics session on Raffaella De Rosa Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation at the University of the Salento, Department of Philosophy, Center for Cartesian Studies, July 4 2014. 2014, Chicago, Il, USA. “Descartes on Innateness and Triggering Causation” at the Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division, February 26-March1. 2014, Austin, Texas, USA “Descartes and The Curious Case of Sensations,” Colloquium Series, Philosophy Department, March 28 2014, Irvine, California, USA “Descartes and The Curious Case of Sensations,” Scientia Workshop, Philosophy Department., Saturday February 8.

2013 McMaster University, Hamilton Canada “Locke’s Real Challenge to Innatism”, Colloquium Series, Philosophy Department, October 11

2013, Lodi, NJ, USA. “Locke’s Real Challenge to Innatism,” Colloquium Series, Philosophy Department, Felician College, April 10 2013.

2013, San Francisco, USA. “Descartes’ Nativism: The Curious Case of Sensations”. Symposium on Innate Cognition, Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division, March 27-30.

2013, Davis, USA.  “Locke’s Critique of Nativism.” Davis Extravaganza Philosophy Conference, University of California, Davis, Philosophy Department, March 25-26 2013

 

2012, Atlanta, USA, “Comment on Amy Schmitter’s ‘” ‘I’ve Got a Little List:’ the Classification of the Passions and Forms of Explanation in 17th Century Philosophy.”

Symposium on Early Modern Theories of the Passions, Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division,  December 27-30.

2012, New London, CT, USA. “Descartes on the Innateness of Sensations” Connecticut College, Department of Philosophy, October 18.

2012, Hanover, USA, “Descartes on the Innateness of Sensations”, 6th Bi-annual Margaret Wilson Philosophy Conference, Dartmouth College, Philosophy Department (June 22-24)

2012, Chicago, USA, “Comments on Andrew Platt’s ‘Johann Clauberg’s Account of Mind-Body Interaction’”, Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division, February 15-18.

2011, Turku, Finland, “Descartes’ Causal Principle and the Case of Mind-Body Causation” University of Turku, Finland, Philosophy Department, Workshop on Early Modern Metaphysics of Causality and Representation, December 16-17.

2011, Pomona, CA “Descartes on the Innateness of Color Sensations” Cal Poly Ponoma, Philosophy Department, meeting of the Southwest Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, December 3-4. [I had to decline invitation due to  family reasons]

2011, Beijing, China, “Descartes’ Dispositional Nativism and Locke’s Critique” College of Philosophy and Sociology, Beijing Normal University, August 27.

2011, Chapel Hill, NC “Comments on Cathay Liu’s ‘A Count of Cartesian Universals’” KCL (Kings College London)/UNC (University of North Carolina) Conference on Early Modern Philosophy, University of North Carolina, May 13-15, 2011.       2011, San Diego, CA. Author-Meets-Critics session on Raffaella De Rosa Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation, Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division (April 20 – 23).        2011, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Presentation of “The Real Challenge of Locke’s Critique of Nativism” at the meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division (March 30-April 2).        2011, Newark, USA. Presentation of “Descartes and Locke on Implicit Knowledge and Innateness” at the NJIT Workshop, February 22, 2011.

2010, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Presentation of “Locke on Innate Ideas” at the Center for Cognitive Science, Rutgers University, New Jersey (December 9)

2010, Helsinki, Finland. Presentation of “Locke’s Critique of Innatism” at the Research Seminar of the Philosophy Disciplines, University of Helsinki, Finland, (November 25)

2010, New York, New York. Presentation of “Cartesian Sensations and the case of Body-to-Mind Causation” at the Sue Weinberg Lecture Series: A Conference Honoring Dr Weinberg, CUNY, Graduate Center.

 

2010, London, UK. Presentation of “Descartes’ Causal Principle and the Case of Mind-Body Causation” at the Institute of Philosophy, University of London, UK  (July 16)

2010, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Presentation of “Descartes’ Causal Principle, Its Alleged Similarity Condition and the Innateness of Sensory Ideas” at the Atlantic Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy in the Philosophy Department at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada (July 8th – July 11)

 

2010, St.  Paul, Minnesota. Presentation of “Is Descartes’ Causal Principle an Explanatory Principle?” at the Midwest Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy held in the Philosophy Department at Macalester College, St Paul, Minnesota (April 30 – May 2 2010)

 

2010, Syracuse, New York. Presentation of “Descartes’ Causal Principle and Its Alleged Similarity Condition” at the Upstate New York Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy, Philosophy Department, Syracuse University (March 7, 2010)

2010, Instanbul, Turkey. Presentation of “Locke’s Critique of Innate Ideas” at the University of Instanbul, Philosophy Department (February 9, 2010)

2009, Irvine, California. Presentation of “Descartes’s Causal Principle and Its Alleged Similarity Condition” at the Scientia Workshop, Philosophy Department, University of California at Irvine (October 2, 2009)

2009, St Petersburg, Russia. A series of six lectures entitled “Is the Mind Endowed? The Debate over Innate Ideas in Early Modern Philosophy” at St Petersburg State University, New York Institute, (July 6-26, 2009)

2009, Siena, Italy, Presentation of “Descartes and Qualia” at the Mind and Language Conference, University of Siena (May 31-June 3, 2009)

2008, Vancouver, Canada. Presentation of “Rethinking the Ontology of Cartesian Essences” at the Pacific Northwest/Western Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, Simon Fraser University (October 17-19, 2008) 2008, Chicago, Illinois. Presentation of “On Causal Accounts of the Representationality of Cartesian Sensations”, Philosophy Department, Northwestern University. (September 29, 2008) 2008,  Ithaca, New York. Presentation of “Descartes’ Causal Principle and its Alleged Similarity Condition” at the 4th Biannual Margaret Dauler Wilson Philosophy Conference, Cornell University (June 30-July 2, 2008) (I declined the invitation)

 

2007, Baltimore, Maryland. Presentation of “On Causal Accounts of the Representationality of Cartesian Sensations” at the meeting of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association (December 27-30, 2007)

 

2007,   New York, New York. Presentation of “Descartes on the Teleology of Sensation in Meditation Six” together with Daniel Garber (Princeton University) and Alison Simmons (Harvard University) at the NY/NJ Research Group in Early Modern Philosophy (November 26, 2007)

 2007, Samobor, Croatia. Presentation of “Descartes on Qualia,” at the International Conference on Descartes and Contemporary Philosophy, organized by the Society for the Advancement of Philosophy and the Department of Philosophy of the Centre for Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb (May 20-23, 2007) 2007, Chicago, Illinois. Presentation of “Descartes’ Causal Principle and Its Alleged Similarity Condition”, at the meeting of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association (April 18-21, 2007) 2007,  Princeton University, New Jersey. Presentation of “Cartesian Sensations: Qualia or Representations?” in Professor Daniel Garber’s graduate seminar (Philosophy 515: Special Topics in the History of Philosophy: Cartesian Dualism and 17th Century Materialism) (April 4 and April 10, 2007) 2007,  Portland, Oregon. Presentation of “A Causal Account of Cartesian Sensations?” at the Pacific Northwest/Western Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, Lewis and Clark College (March 9-11, 2007)

2006, Washington, DC. Presentation of “Rethinking the Ontology of Cartesian Essences,” at the meeting of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association (December 27-30, 2006)

2006, New York, New York. Presentation of “A Causal Account of cartesian Sensations?” at the NY/NJ Research Group in Early Modern Philosophy (October 23, 2006)

2006,  Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Presentation of “Cartesian Bodies: Causes or Occasions of Sensations?”, at the Atlantic Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy (ACSEMP), Dalhousie University (July 6-9, 2006). (I had to decline the invitation for medical reasons)

2006,   Chicago, Illinois. Presentation of “The Myth of Cartesian Qualia” at the meeting of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association (April 26-29, 2006)

2006, Portland, Oregon. Presentation of “A Teleological Account of Cartesian Sensations?” at the meeting of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association (March 22-26, 2006)

2005, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Presentation of “Descartes on Sensory Representation and Misrepresentation” at the “What is Cognitive Science?” Talk Series, Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science (November 3, 2005)

2005, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Presentation of “The Myth of Cartesian Qualia” at the Atlantic Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, Dalhousie University (July 8-10, 2005)

2005,   Manchester, England. Presentation of “Prinz’s Problematic Proxytypes” at the Joint Session of the Mind Association and Aristotelian Society, University of Manchester (July 8-11, 2005). (I had to decline the invitation because the Joint Session of the Mind Association and Aristotelian Society conflicted with the above Atlantic Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy)

2005,   Istanbul, Turkey. Presentation of “The Myth of Cartesian Qualia” at the Southeast European Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, Bogaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey (August 8-12, 2005)

2005,  Florianopolis, Brazil. Presentation of “The Myth of Cartesian Qualia” at the Fourth Principia International Symposium at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil (August 8-11, 2005).  (I had to decline the invitation because the Symposium conflicted with the above Southeast European Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy)

2005, Istanbul, Turkey. Presentation of “A Teleological Account of Cartesian Sensations?” at the University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey (August 5, 2005)

2005,   Newark, New Jersey. Presentation of “Is The Mind Endowed? at the Rutgers-Newark Research-Day (April 19, 2005)

2005, Oslo, Norway. Presentation of “A Teleological account of Cartesian Sensations?”, at the Philosophy Department, University of Oslo, Norway (March 10, 2005)

2004,   Boston, Massachusetts. Comments on Jan-Erik “Leibniz and Locke and the Debate over Species” at Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (December 27-30, 2004)

2004,   New York, New York. Presentation of “A Teleological Account of Cartesian Sensations?”, at the CUNY Graduate Center (November 3, 2004)

2004,   Cambridge, Massachusetts. Presentation of “A Teleological Account of Cartesian Sensations?” at The New England Colloquium in Early Modern Philosophy, Harvard University (June 5-6, 2004)

2004,   Gainesville, Florida. Presentation of “Conceptualist vs Platonist Accounts of Cartesian Essences: An Illusory Debate?” at the Southeastern Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, University of Florida (April 17-18, 2004)

2004,   Chicago, Illinois. Presentation of “Prinz’s Problematic Proxytypes” at the meeting of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association (April 22-25, 2004)

2004, Columbia, South Carolina. Presentation of “Prinz’s Problematic Proxytypes”, Philosophy Research Seminar, Department of Philosophy, University of South Carolina (April 13, 2004)

2004,   Irvine, California. Presentation of “Conceptualist vs Platonist Accounts of Cartesian Essences: An Illusory Debate?” at the Meeting of the Cartesian Circle, Philosophy Department, University of California at Irvine (March 29, 2004)

2004, Pasadena, California. Presentation of “Descartes’ Quasi-Platonism about Mathematical Essences” at the meeting of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association (March 24-28, 2004)

2003, Madison, Wisconsin. Presentation of “Descartes’ Quasi-Platonism about Mathematical Essences” at the Meeting of the Midwest Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin (December 6-7, 2003)

2003,   New Brunswick, New Jersey. Presentation of “Descartes’ Quasi-Platonism about Mathematical Essences” at Rutgers University (October 23-25, 2003)

2003,   Belfast, Ireland. Presentation of “Descartes on Sensory Misrepresentation” at the Joint Session of the Mind Association and Aristotelian Society (July 18-21, 2003)

2003,   Vancouver, Canada. Presentation of “Descartes on Sensory Misrepresentation”  at the Meeting of the Society for Exact Philosophy (May 15-19, 2003)

2003,   Lancaster, South Carolina. Presentation of “Descartes on Material Falsity: Sensory Representation and Misrepresentation”, meeting of the South Carolina Society for Philosophy (March 7-8, 2003)

2003,   Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Presentation of “Descartes on Material Falsity: Sensory Representation and Misrepresentation”, Department of Philosophy, University of Lethbridge (February 14, 2003)

2003,   Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Presentation of “Descartes on Material Falsity: Sensory Representation and Misrepresentation”, Department of Philosophy, University of Alberta (February 13, 2003)

2003,   Newark, New Jersey. Presentation of “Is the Mind Endowed? Anti-Nativist Arguments Revisited”, Department of Philosophy, Rutgers University, Newark (February 4, 2003)

2002,   Columbia, South Carolina. Presentation of “Descartes on the Representationality of Sensation: The Case of Materially False Ideas”, Philosophy Research Seminar, Department of Philosophy, University of South Carolina (October 23, 2002)

2002,   Chicago, Illinois. Presentation of “Quine’s Holisms”, in a Symposium on Quine at the meeting of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association. (April 24-27, 2002). (Ernest Lepore presented our co-authored paper)

2002,   Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Presentation of “Locke’s Essay Book I: The Question-Begging Status of the Anti-Nativist Arguments”, Department of Philosophy, University of Alberta (February 11, 2002)

 

2002,   Columbia, South Carolina. Presentation of “Locke’s Essay Book I: The Question-Begging Status of the Anti-Nativist Arguments”, Department of Philosophy, University of South Carolina (February 4, 2002)

2002,   Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Presentation of “Locke’s Essay Book I: The Question-Begging Status of the Anti-Nativist Arguments”, Department of Philosophy, Wake Forest University (January 29, 2002)

2001, Atlanta, Georgia. Presentation of “Descartes on the Representationality of Sensation: The Case of Materially False Ideas”, at the meeting of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association (December 27-30, 2001).

1994,   Genova, Italy.  “Donald Davidson: The Problem of Meaning between Truth and Interpretation” (Original Title: “Donald Davidson: il problema del significato tra verita’ e interpretazione”) at the SIFA (Italian Society of Analytic Philosophy) (October 24, 1994).

Honors and Awards

2011, Author-Meets-Critics Session was organized by the American Philosophical Association on my book  Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation, Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division (April 20 – 23).

2008-2009 The Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence ($2000). This fellowship recognized me as one of Rutgers University’s most distinguished young faculty members (university-wide competition).

2006 NEH Summer Stipend ($5,000)

2003 CLASS Award, College of Liberal Arts Scholarship Support, University of South Carolina ($4,500)

2002 (Spring Semester) Rutgers University and Bevier Fellowship ($6,000)

2001 Graduate student Travel Award, Eastern APA ($300)

2000 Distinction in Area Test in Philosophy of Language

1997 – 1998, Rutgers University Excellence Fellowship ($11,000)

1996-1997, Rutgers University Excellence Fellowship ($11,000)

1995- 1996, Rutgers University Excellence Fellowship ($11,000)

1994-5, MURST Fellowship (University of Pisa Research Fellowship) ($5,000)

1994 Graduated summa cum laude from the Philosophy Department at the University of Pisa, Italy.

1992 EEC Fellowship (European Community Fellowship) ($5,000)

Affiliations

Member: American Philosophical Association; Aristotelian Society; Society for Exact Philosophy; South Carolina Society for Philosophy.

Service

  • 2018-present Chair of Philosophy, Rutgers-Newark.
  • 2017 (Spring) External Reviewer of Townson University Philosophy Department
  • 2016- 2017 Member of Search Committee for a tenure-track position in Ethics in the Philosophy Department.
  • 2016 (Spring) Referee for Eastern APA for Colloquium and Symposium papers in the History of Philosophy.
  • 2016 (Fall) Referee of article for CJP
  • 2016 (Fall) Referee article for APQ
  • 2016 (Fall) Review for NEH summer Stipends
  • 2015-2016 Chair of Ad-Hoc Committee for Dr Buechner’s Promotion to Associate Teaching Professor (2015-2016)
  • 2014 member of the search Committee for the Henry Rutgers Term Chair in Computer and Data Science
  • 2014 Member of the Cognitive Science group creating a new Minor in Cognitive Science
  • 2014 Organizer of the conference “The Innateness Hypothesis: Now and Then” at Rutgers-Newark, October 17-18.
  • Chair of Philosophy Department (July 1 2012-present)
  • Chair of Ad-Hoc Committee for Professor Aizawa’s promotion to Full Professor with tenure (Fall 2013).
  • Chair of Philosophy Search Committee (2012-2013)
  • Chair of Ad-Hoc Committee for Dr Kati Balog’s promotion to Associate Professor with tenure (Fall 2012)
  • Chair of Ad-Hoc Committee for Dr Buechner’s Annual Reappointment (2012-2013; 2013-2014 and 2014-2015)
  • Philosophy Representative at Major Connections and Open House events. (2012-2013)
  • Representative for Philosophy for Senior Awards (2012-2015)
  • Acting Chair of Philosophy Department (October 4 2011-June 30 2012)
  • Participant in the interviewing process of job candidates for the position of Digital Humanities Librarian for Dana Library (Spring 2012)
  • Organizer and coordinator of the Department Colloquium series (AY 2010-2011).
  • Member of the Third Year Review Committee for Prof Ishani Maitra (Spring 2011)
  • Member of the Search Committee in a core area of philosophy with a research agenda in applied philosophy, Rutgers University-Newark (2009-2010)
  • Outside Committee Member of Stephanie Wykstra’s PhD Dissertation in Philosophy “A Defense of Cartesian Certainty” (Rutgers, New Brunswick), Summer 2008. Chair: Ernie Sosa. Committee Members: Martha Bolton and Peter Klein.
  • Occasional Referee of papers for the ACSEMP (Atlantic Canada Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy) Conference (2007-present)
  • Committee member of Cassandra Foursha’s PhD Dissertation in Psychology entitled “Syntactic Acquisition and the Development of Bilingual Processing” (Rutgers-Newark) (2006-2007) Co-directors: Jennifer Austin and Gretchen Van de Walle.
  • Co-founder (with Catherine Wilson and Enrique Chavez-Arvizo) and current organizer of the NY/NJ Research Group in Early Modern Philosophy (2006-present)
  • Supervisor of Lisa Koumolous’ Honors Senior Thesis: “On Fodor’s Conceptual Nativism” (Rutgers-Newark) (2005-2006)
  • Member of the Search Committee in Epistemology and Philosophy of Science, Rutgers University-Newark (2005-2006)
  • Member of the Undergraduate Assessment Committee at Rutgers-Newark – Sub-Committee: General Curriculum Committee (2005-2006)
  • Committee member of the Mid-Atlantic Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy (2005-present)
  • Organizer of the meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy at Rutgers-Newark, October 29-30, 2005. (Primary organizer)
  • Co-organizer of the Colloquium in Public Philosophy at Rutgers-Newark (2004-2005)
  • Peer evaluation of the teaching abilities of adjunct faculty at Rutgers-Newark (2004-2005)
  • Contact person in the Philosophy Department for recruitment of students in the Honors College at Rutgers Newark (2004-2005)
  • Book proposals reviewer for Oxford University Press (2004, 2012, 2013)
  • Member of the Graduate Admission Committee, University of South Carolina (2003-2004)
  • Member of the Search Committee in Philosophy and Feminist Theory, University of South Carolina (2002-2003)
  • Committee Member of Cynthia Bryson’s PhD dissertation: “Marsilio Ficino’s Spiritus Triplex. A Coherent and Consistent Theory.” (2002-2003)
  • Member of the MA Comprehensive Exam Committee for Angela Pizur (February 11, 2003, University of South Carolina) (2002-2003)
  • Member of the MA Comprehensive Exam Committee for Monica Chou (February 3, 2003, University of South Carolina) (2002-2003)
  • Peer evaluation of the teaching abilities of senior and junior faculty (University of South Carolina) (2002-2003)
  • Referee: Mind & Language; The Philosophical Quarterly; Synthese; Dialogue: The Canadian Philosophical Review; Archiv Für Geschichte Der Philosophie; History of Philosophy Quarterly; Philosophers’ Imprint; The Canadian Journal of Philosophy; Journal of Philosophical Research; The History of Philosophy Journal; Oxford University Press; Ergo, An Open Access Journal of Philosophy.

Teaching Experience

Princeton University

 

Upper-level Course in early Modern Philosophy: Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz (300-level).

Rutgers University – Newark

Selected Topics in Cognition: The Origins of Knowledge, graduate seminar in Psychology, co-taught with Prof. Gretchen Van De Walle, Psychology Department, Rutgers-Newark

Advanced Modern Philosophy (400-level)

Advanced Modern Philosophy (300-level)

Introduction to Greek Philosophy (200-level)

        Introduction to Modern Philosophy (200-level)

        Introduction to Philosophy (100-level)

 

University of South Carolina

Introduction to Philosophy (100 level)

Introduction to Modern Philosophy (200 level)

Graduate seminar in XVIIth and XVIIIth Century Philosophy (700-level)

       Graduate Seminar on Continental Rationalism (500-level)

 

 Rutgers University — New Brunswick

 

Critical Reasoning (100 level)

Upper-Level Class in the History of Philosophy: “Descartes, Locke and the XVIIth            Century” (300 level)

Upper-Level Class in the History of Philosophy: “Hume, Kant and the XVIIIth Century” (300 level)

Introduction to Philosophy (100 level)

 

Independent Studies and Supervision of Honors Thesis

2022: UG Independent Study on the innateness debate

2014: UG: Ravi Soijtra (Independent Study on Descartes’ Epistemology and Psychology)

2007: UG: Terrence Pearson (Independent Study)

2006: UG: Lisa Koumolous (Supervision of Honors Thesis. “On Fodor’s Conceptual Nativism”)

2005: UG: Benavides Jessica, Hattem David, Koumolous Lisa, Phang Kerry-Ann (Independent Study)