UMass Boston

Maria Brincker

Department:
Philosophy
Title:
Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise

Phil. of Mind & Neuroscience, Privacy & Technology, Action theory, Free Will, Autism and Neurodevelopment, Aesthetic Experience, Philosophy of Biology

Degrees

PhD, City University of New York Graduate Center, 2010

Professional Publications & Contributions

Additional Information

Maria Brincker's research pursues more adequate theoretical models of our psychological processes and the complex neurobiology and cultural worlds, which support them. A core methodological challenge lies in the tension between on the one hand the growing empirical evidence for the dynamic and contextual functioning of organisms and minds, and on the other our epistemological desires for simple, atomistic and mechanistic models. With collaborators within neuroscience she seeks to build new theories and methodologies as well as re-interpret old findings in these new frames.

Much of her research has been about sensorimotor processes and their development and role in cognition, perception and social interaction. However, she also studies how sensorimotor processes relate to applied areas such as the field of autism research and developmental psychology as well as broader questions e.g. in aesthetics and most recently in relation to our autonomy and agency. In this relation her recent focus is on technologically mediated actions, and current issues of privacy and discrimination.

Another line of inquiry has to do with more abstract questions of the role of context, temporality and interaction in theoretical biology and metaphysics.

And here a brief Blog post on recent research on agency and affordances in "smart" spaces, done while visiting the Center for Subjectivity research while Copenhagen University Fall 2020

See also:

Academia.edu page 
ResearchGate page
Philpapers page

Follow me on PhilPeople

COURSES:

PHIL 344: Philosophy of Mind
PHIL 305: Action 
PHIL 281: Special Topics: Mind, Choice & Action
PHIL 130G: Privacy
PHIL 108: Social and Moral Problems
PHIL 100: Introduction to Philosophy
HONORS  293: Honors Topic in Social & Behavioral Sciences - Contextual Minds

 

Back to Philosophy Faculty page
Back to Philosophy Department main page