Jesse J. Prinz
City University of New York, Graduate Center

Distinguished Professor, Philosophy Pogram
Director, Committee for Interdisciplianry Science Studies
Director, CUNY Philosophy Lab

Previous affiliations: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Washington University in St. Louis
Visiting positions: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (School of Mind and Brain), Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences (Stanford), Ecole Normale Superieure (Paris), The University of London, California Institute of Technology, University of Maryland at College Park

Research Statement
I work primarily in the philosophy of psychology, with an emphasis on the role on perception, emotion, and socialization of various aspects of thought and behavior.

Current Research Topics
At present, my major research projects are focused on four topics: the relationship between morality and the self; a genealogy of liberalism; an empirically-informed defense of social constructionism; and the nature of art.

Research Areas
Below is a list of some of my my research interests with sample papers.  Other papers can be found on ResearchGate and Academia (linked below).  For a more complete list, consult CV.

Concepts
Sample papers:
"The Return of Concept Empiricism"
"Regaining Composure: A Defense of Prototype Compositionality"

Emotion
Sample papers:
"Embodied Emotions"
"Which Emotions Are Basic?"

Consciousness
Sample papers:
"A Neurofunctional Theory of Consciousness"
"Mental Pointing: Phenomenal Knowledge Without Concepts"
"Is Consciousness Embodied?"
"When is Perception Conscious?"

Moral Psychology
Sample papers:
"The Emotional Basis of Moral Judgment"
"Can Moral Obligations Be Discovered Empirically?"
"The Normativity Challenge: Why Traits Won't Save Virtue Ethics"
"Is Empathy Necessary for Morality?"
"Against Empathy"

Nature/Nurture
Sample papers:
"Against Moral Nativism"
"Is Morality Innate?"
"Resisting the Linguistic Analogy (A Reply to Hauser, Cushman, and Young)"

Aesthetics
Sample papers:
"The Role of Emotion in Aesthetic Judgment"
"Emotion and Aesthetic Value"
"When is Film Art?"

Other Topics
Vagueness: "Vagueness, Language, and Ontology"
Modularity: "Is the Mind Really Modular?"
Perception: "Beyond Appearances: The Content of Sensation and Perception"

External Sites with Papers
Academia
ResearchGate

Authored Books

The Moral Self. New York: Oxford University Press (in production).

Works of Wonder:  A Theory of Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press (in production).

The Conscious Brain. New York: Oxford University Press (in press).

Beyond Human Nature. London: Penguin  / New York: Norton (2012). (More info here.)

The Emotional Construction of Morals. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2007).

Gut Reactions: A Perceptual Theory of Emotion. New York: Oxford University Press (2004).

Furnishing the Mind: Concepts and Their Perceptual Basis. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press (2002).

   

Edited Books