Alexander Gerner

Alexander Gerner is a theatre director /playright and researcher in philosophy. Currently (2/2013-) he holds a FCT Post-Doc grant with his research project “Philosophy of Cognitive Enhancement” http://cognitiveenhancement.weebly.com/ at the Centre of Philosophy of Science at the Science Faculty of the University of Lisbon. Philosophy of Cognitive Enhancement (PCE) deals with issues in relation to philosophy of health and philosophical anthropology, the philosophy of biomedical sciences including (Neuro-)Pharmacology and the Philosophy of (Neuro-) Cognitive Sciences: PCE provides a common framework for an epistemology, ethics of human technology and its social and political assessment.

In his multimedia theatre project Cut (1999) AG studied the “problem of perception” in the sense of the tension in between the real body its skin and the assumed identity in the tension of the material body/ virtual body. Since 2000, he works in collaboration exploring processes of search/discovery and creativity in art and science. The project on Peirce´s abduction and the processes of scientific discovery brought him back to studying semiotics and pragmatics, and his research on attention gave way to a PhD with a FCT grant (2005-2009): "Philosophical Investigation on Attention". He concluded his PhD on the 29th of May 2012 with a degree(summa cum laude) in History and Philosophy of Science at the Science Faculty of the University of Lisbon. Moreover is he a current member of the research Project “Cognitive Foundation of the Self” at the IFILNOVA, New University of Lisbon where he recently co-organized the workshop on “Altered Self and Altered Self Experience”(2013) and Self and the Social (2014). Gerner has made part of the Project “Image in Science and Art”(2006-2009) in which he focused on Diagrammatology and philosophical issues of Neuroaesthetics. In 2011 he was the recipient of a Study fellowship at CASBS (Stanford University) on Cognitive (Neuro-) Sciences and the Humanities. //Current Research Interests//

Philosophy of Cognitive Enhancement
Philosophy of Attention
(Neuro-)ethics and (Neuro-)aesthetics
Philosophy of the (social) Self and Altered Self Experience
Philosophy of integrative Medicine
Diagrammatology and Diagram Praxis
Philosophy of Gesture, gestures in cinema and performing arts
Philosophy of Technology and human techniques
Philosophy of cinema and cinematic experience