Here you will find essays for a general audience, exploring questions about consciousness, mind, artificial intelligence, and other topics.
Consciousness
Consciousness is not what it seems (In Clifford Sosis (ed.), Too Weird to Believe, Too Plausible to Deny: Mind-Blowing Philosophical Ideas. Routledge, or 2025). Makes the case that we don’t have direct, infallible knowledge of our own conscious experiences, and that phenomenal consciousness—the supposed private display of mental qualities like yellowness or painfulness—is actually an illusion created by how our brains schematically model complex patterns of psychological reactions.
Future AI in the therapist’s chair (IAI News, 2023) — A fictional dialogue between an AI and its human therapist exploring whether artificial consciousness is possible.
Illusionism and its place in contemporary philosophy of mind (Human Affairs, 2022) — An interview discussing the illusionist theory of consciousness and its role in current debates.
The mental life of mountains (New Humanist, 2022) — Examines panpsychism’s claim that consciousness might extend to inanimate things.
Beast machines (Times Literary Supplement, 2022) — A review of Anil Seth’s Being You: A New Science of Consciousness.
Illusionism (Philosophers on Consciousness: Talking about the Mind, 2022) — An accessible introduction to the illusionist view of phenomenal consciousness.
Our greatest invention was the invention of invention itself (Psyche, 2020) — Argues that humans’ most transformative innovation was developing the ability to systematically innovate.
The lure of the Cartesian sideshow (The Philosophers’ Magazine, 2020) — On why consciousness studies should move beyond Cartesian assumptions about the mind.
The demystification of consciousness (IAI News, 2020) — Makes the case that consciousness can be explained in naturalistic terms.
The consciousness illusion (Aeon, 2019) — Defends the view that phenomenal consciousness is a benign fiction created by our brains to help us track our interactions with the world.
What is it like to be a bot? (Philosophy Now, 2018) — A short story exploring artificial consciousness through the eyes of a robot.
AI and consciousness (Interalia Magazine, 2018) — An interview on the prospects for machine consciousness.
Why panpsychism fails to solve the mystery of consciousness (Aeon, 2016) — Explains panpsychism’s appeal as a solution to the hard problem, but argues we should reject it in favor of illusionism.
Mind
The best books on philosophy of mind (Five Books, 2018) — Recommends five essential books for understanding philosophy of mind.
What do you really believe? Take the Truth-Demon test (Aeon, 2018) — A thought experiment revealing the difference between what we sincerely say and what we genuinely believe.
How to read a mind (IAI News, 2017) — On the science and philosophy of understanding other minds.
The blind Bach-maker (The Economist, 2017) — A review of Daniel Dennett’s From Bacteria to Bach and Back.
The mind isn’t locked in the brain but extends far beyond it (Aeon, 2016) — Defends the extended mind thesis that cognition extends into our environment.
Whatever you think, you don’t necessarily know your own mind (Aeon, 2016) — Challenges the assumption that we have privileged access to our own mental states.
Regenerating the Doctor (OpenLearn, 2013) — Uses Doctor Who to explore philosophical questions about personal identity.
A Greek perspective on austerity psychology (with Maria Kasmirli, The Psychologist, 2013) — Documents how austerity in Greece has devastated psychology departments and mental health services, while psychologists have responded with increased voluntary work and focus on social well-being.
Other topics
Getting there (Dylan at 80: It Used to Go Like That, and Now It Goes Like This, 2021) — Traces how Dylan has sung about mortality across his career, from youthful detachment through midlife crisis to aged acceptance.
‘Time Team’ could reveal the future of public engagement (Times Higher Education, 2021) — On archaeology television as a model for academic public engagement.
Death is no leveller if some live much longer than others (Aeon, 2018) — Argues that radical life extension would create troubling inequalities.
The development of our minds (The Reading Lists, 2018) — An interview discussing books that have shaped my thinking about the mind and consciousness.
Is great philosophy, by its nature, difficult and obscure? (Aeon, 2015) — Challenges the assumption that philosophical depth requires difficult prose.
