•  46
    Do delusions have and give meaning?
    Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 21 (4): 949-968. 2022.
    Delusions are often portrayed as paradigmatic instances of incomprehensibility and meaninglessness. Here we investigate the relationship between delusions and meaning from a philosophical perspective, integrating arguments and evidence from cognitive psychology and phenomenological psychopathology. We review some of the empirical and philosophical literature relevant to two claims about delusions and meaning: delusions are meaningful, despite being described as irrational and implausible beliefs…Read more
  •  21
    Is curiosity a virtue or a vice? Curiosity, as a disposition to attain new, worthwhile information, can manifest as an epistemic virtue. When the disposition to attain new information is not manifested virtuously, this is either because the agent lacks the appropriate motivation to attain the information or because the agent has poor judgement, seeking information that is not worthwhile or seeking information by inappropriate means. In the right circumstances, curiosity contributes to the agent’…Read more
  •  13
    Why Delusions Matter
    Bloomsbury Publishing. 2023.
    When we talk about delusions we may refer to symptoms of mental health problems, such as clinical delusions in schizophrenia, or simply the beliefs that people cling to which are implausible and resistant to counterevidence; these can include anything from beliefs about the benefits of homeopathy to concerns about the threat of alien abduction. Why do people adopt delusional beliefs and why are they so reluctant to part with them? In Why Delusions Matter, Lisa Bortolotti explains what delusions …Read more
  •  10
    Why Delusions Matter
    Bloomsbury Publishing. 2023.
    Delusions can be many things. They can be symptoms of mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, clinical delusions, or simply the beliefs that people cling to which are unsupported by evidence. We call the latter everyday delusions and they can include anything from the benefits of homeopathy to the dangers of alien abduction. Yet, why do people adopt delusional beliefs and why can they be so reluctant to part with them? In Why Delusions Matter, Lisa Bortolotti explains what delusions reall…Read more
  •  30
    The Bright Side of Memory Errors
    The Philosophers' Magazine 82 41-47. 2018.
    The paper discusses the epistemic benefits of cognitive mechanisms producing distorted memories. Aimed at a non-specialist audience.
  •  32
    Epistemic innocence and the production of false memory beliefs
    Philosophical Studies 176 (3): 755-780. 2019.
    Findings from the cognitive sciences suggest that the cognitive mechanisms responsible for some memory errors are adaptive, bringing benefits to the organism. In this paper we argue that the same cognitive mechanisms also bring a suite of significant epistemic benefits, increasing the chance of an agent obtaining epistemic goods like true belief and knowledge. This result provides a significant challenge to the folk conception of memory beliefs that are false, according to which they are a sign …Read more
  •  63
    Embryos and Eagles: Symbolic Value in Research and Reproduction
    Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 15 (1): 22-34. 2006.
    On both sides of the debate on the use of embryos in stem cell research, and in reproductive technologies more generally, rhetoric and symbolic images have been evoked to influence public opinion. Human embryos themselves are described as either “very small human beings” or “small clusters of cells.” The intentions behind the use of these phrases are clear. One description suggests that embryos are already members of our community and share with us a right to life or at least respectful treatmen…Read more
  •  34
    An Ethical Framework for Stem Cell Research in the European Union
    with John Harris and Louise Irving
    Health Care Analysis 13 (3): 157-162. 2005.
    Paper providing an ethical framework for stem cell research in Europe
  •  30
    Natural versus Assisted Reproduction: In Search of Fairness
    with Daniela E. Cutas
    Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology 4 (1). 2010.
    In this paper, we are concerned with the ethical implications of the distinction between natural reproduction and reproduction that requires assistance. We argue that the current practice of enforcing regulations on the latter but not on the former means of reproduction is ethically unjustified. It is not defensible to tolerate parental ignorance or abuse in natural reproduction and subsequently in natural parenting, whilst submitting assisted reproduction and parenting to invasive scrutiny. Our…Read more
  •  28
    Autobiographical stories do not merely offer insights into someone’s experience but can constitute evidence or even serve as self-standing arguments for a given viewpoint in the context of public debates. Such stories are likely to exercise considerable influence on debate participants’ views and behaviour due to their being more vivid, engaging, and accessible than other forms of evidence or argument. In this paper we are interested in whether there are epistemic and moral duties associated wit…Read more
  •  147
    Delusional beliefs and reason giving
    Philosophical Psychology 21 (6): 801-21. 2008.
    Philosophers have been long interested in delusional beliefs and in whether, by reporting and endorsing such beliefs, deluded subjects violate norms of rationality (Campbell 1999; Davies & Coltheart 2002; Gerrans 2001; Stone & Young 1997; Broome 2004; Bortolotti 2005). So far they have focused on identifying the relation between intentionality and rationality in order to gain a better understanding of both ordinary and delusional beliefs. In this paper Matthew Broome and I aim at drawing attenti…Read more
  •  24
    Review of Carolyn Price, Functions in mind: A theory of intentional content (review)
    Australasian Journal of Philosophy 80 (3). 2002.
    Book Information Functions in Mind: A Theory of Intentional Content. Functions in Mind: A Theory of Intentional Content Carolyn Price Oxford Clarendon Press 2001 vi + 263 Hardback £35 By Carolyn Price. Clarendon Press. Oxford. Pp. vi + 263. Hardback:£35.
  •  65
    Delimiting the concept of research: An ethical perspective
    Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 28 (3): 157-179. 2007.
    It is important to be able to offer an account of which activities count as scientific research, given our current interest in promoting research as a means to benefit humankind and in ethically regulating it. We attempt to offer such an account, arguing that we need to consider both the procedural and functional dimensions of an activity before we can establish whether it is a genuine instance of scientific research. By placing research in a broader schema of activities, the similarities and di…Read more
  •  43
    The Epistemic Relevance of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
    Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Psychology 29 (2): 91-93. 2022.
    Ratnayake's interesting paper challenges two claims, that cognitive distortions in depression involve epistemic issues; and that cognitive behavioral therapy can rectify those epistemic issues. We are going to discuss both claims here and offer some reasons not to underestimate the epistemic relevance of CBT. First, there may be epistemic issues underlying cognitive distortions in depression that CBT can effectively address, including blind acceptance of negative automatic thoughts and insensiti…Read more
  •  34
    A Journey into the Mind
    with Lynn Chiu and Lauren Leigh Saling
    Philosophical Psychology 36 (4): 701-703. 2023.
    In this issue, we present two symposia on recent, influential books which have already sparked important research in philosophy and psychology. A common characteristic of these two very different b...
  •  16
    Sharing responsibility for conspiracy beliefs: The agency-in-context model
    Resistances. Journal of the Philosophy of History 3 (6). 2022.
    In this paper, I borrow Neil Levy’s account of bad beliefs as a starting point to discuss how the social turn in epistemology affects our understanding of the formation, persistence, and spreading of conspiracy beliefs. Despite the recent convergence of philosophers and psychologists on the importance of studying the social dimensions of cognition, current models of conspiracy beliefs differ substantially as to the role that agents have in adopting and maintaining conspiracy beliefs. As a result…Read more
  •  12
    Challenges and achievements for Philosophical Psychology
    Philosophical Psychology 36 (1): 1-3. 2023.
    Last January I took up the editorship of Philosophical Psychology and assembled a great team of associate editors and book review editors. Our goal was to work toward a more inclusive, diverse, and...
  • This chapter argues that the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the limits of the mainstream individualistic notion of resilience and, in light of these limits, it advances a new, relational notion of the concept of resilience that contributes to the individuals’ well-being and takes into consideration the role of systemic inequality. The first half of the paper argues that the individualistic notion is flawed in two ways: i) it can foster ill-being because it is cognitively taxing, and ii) it discou…Read more
  •  97
    Natural versus assisted reproduction. In search of fairness
    Studies in Ethics, Law and Technology 4 (1). 2010.
    Whilst the choice of becoming a parent in the natural way is unregulated all over Europe (and proposals of regulation raise vehement objections), most European countries have (either legal or professional) regulations imposing criteria that people must satisfy if they wish to gain access to assisted reproduction and parenting. These criteria may include relationship status, age, sexual orientation, financial stability, health, and willingness to attend parenting classes. The existence of regulat…Read more
  •  35
    Solitude as a positive experience
    Metodo. International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy 8 (2): 119-147. 2020.
    What makes solitude a positive experience? What distinguishes experiences of solitude from experiences of loneliness? We review some of the literature on the benefits of solitude, focusing on freedom, creativity, and spirituality. Then, we argue that the relationship between agent and environment is an important factor in determining the quality of experiences of solitude. In particular, we find that solitude may support a person’s sense of agency, expanding the possibilities for action that a p…Read more
  •  11
    What Makes a Belief Delusional?
    with Ema Sullivan-Bissett and Rachel Gunn
    In I. McCarthy, K. Sellevold & O. Smith (eds.), Cognitive Confusions, Legenda. 2016.
    In philosophy, psychiatry, and cognitive science, definitions of clinical delusions are not based on the mechanisms responsible for the formation of delusions, since there is no consensus yet on what causes delusions. Some of the defining features of delusions are epistemic and focus on whether delusions are true, justified, or rational, as in the definition of delusions as fixed beliefs that are badly supported by evidence. Other defining features of delusions are psychological and focus on whe…Read more
  •  45
    Are delusions pathological beliefs?
    Asian Journal of Philosophy 1 (1): 1-10. 2022.
    In chapter 3 of Delusions and Beliefs, Kengo Miyazono argues that, when delusions are pathological beliefs, they are so due to their being both harmful and malfunctional. In this brief commentary, I put pressure on Miyazono’s account of delusions as harmful malfunctioning beliefs. No delusions might satisfy the malfunction criterion and some delusions might fail to satisfy the harmfulness criterion when such conditions are interpreted as criteria for pathological beliefs. In the end, I raise a g…Read more
  •  286
    Agency-First Epistemology of Psychedelics
    Philosophy and the Mind Sciences 3. 2022.
    Letheby’s book is an engaging and crystal-clear exploration of the philosophical issues raised by the use of psychedelic drugs. In this paper, we focus on the epistemological issues Letheby examines in chapter 8 and argue that his analysis requires an agency-first approach to epistemic evaluation. On an agency-first approach, epistemic evaluation is about identifying the skills agents needs to acquire in order to pursue and fulfil their epistemic goals.
  •  21
    A new Philosophical Psychology
    Philosophical Psychology 35 (1): 1-5. 2022.
    Editorial describing changes in the journal Philosophical Psychology
  •  19
    Exceptionalism is the view that one group is better than other groups and, by virtue of its alleged superiority, is not subject to the same constraints. Here we identify national exceptionalism in the responses made by political leaders in the United States and the United Kingdom to the covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. First, we observe that responses appealed to national values and national character and were marked by a denial of the severity of the situation. Second, we suggest an analogy bet…Read more
  •  7