Sabrina Coninx

I am a philosopher of science and mind working at the interface of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, movement, and healthcare sciences. My research focuses on mental phenomena related to human suffering, which appears to me as one of the most enigmatic, but also fascinating research subjects.

I have intensively worked on diverse questions related to acute and chronic pain. For example, I am interested in tools to systematically model the phenomenal experiences of people living with pain and how they can be accounted for within a naturalistic framework. Furthermore, I use core concepts of situated cognition to address the question of how biological, psychological, and social factors interact in chronic illnesses and can be targeted in clinical contexts to reduce human suffering. I have become increasingly interested in the role of technology and narratives in these processes. Another research area of mine is the philosophy of social understanding, especially the plurality of epistemic strategies we use in interaction with others. Furthermore,I use experimental approaches to study the folk concept of pain and suffering.

I am an Assistant Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, co-coordinating the Master's Philosophy of Neuroscience. Before that, I worked at Ruhr University Bochum as a postdoctoral researcher and scientific coordinator of the Research Training Group Situated Cognition. I obtained a PhD in philosophy at the Ruhr University Bochum. I obtained a Master's degree in philosophy and a Bachelor's degree in philosophy and psychology at the University of Bonn.