Maxim Gorbachev is a Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for Logic, Linguistics and Formal Philosophy at HSE University (Higher School of Economics) in Moscow. He holds a Master’s in Philosophy from Lomonosov Moscow State University and completed his Candidate of Sciences dissertation in 2025 on the illusionist theory of consciousness. His research focuses on the philosophy of consciousness, particularly the debate between realists and illusionists over phenomenal consciousness and qualia. His publications include critical analyses of illusionism in relation to identity theory and the epistemological foundations of the realism/illusionism debate. Further details are available on his HSE profile and ResearchGate.
The first time I met Keith was in 2021, when I was pursuing a master’s degree at Lomonosov Moscow State University. He gave a lecture on illusionism, which became the starting point of my interest in the philosophy of mind and consciousness. Like many others, I initially found illusionism rather unconvincing at first glance. However, it captured my attention, and I spent a lot of time thinking about it. Eventually, this led me to decide to write my future PhD thesis on illusionism (it is still hard to believe that before that I was planning to write about love).
I became a PhD student at HSE University and received a grant for my studies. Among other benefits, this gave me the opportunity to do a research internship. So I emailed Keith. We had a Zoom call, and after several months of preparation I found myself in Heraklion at the end of September. During my stay, I was expected to write a paper, so I presented Keith with a couple of topics related to illusionism, and we decided to work on one of them. At the same time, I asked him many questions that I had prepared in advance, trying to clarify as much as possible about illusionist theory.
My internship lasted a little over two months, and most of that time I spent reading and writing in the room I had rented (which is a story in itself: almost no daylight, no chairs with backs, but plenty of insects that I am afraid of). Keith always offered me help with any troubles I could have, what I am very grateful for. When I was not reading or writing, I went for walks—mostly in the evenings, since it was too hot during most of the day. But the most important part of my time there was my conversations with Keith. We met two or three times a week in his office, talking about illusionism, philosophy in general, and also non-philosophical topics.
Working with Keith was my first experience of genuinely collaborative thinking on a paper: I prepare a draft, we discuss it, and then I revise it. This may not sound particularly special, but I had never experienced discussions that were so productive, friendly, and deep — either before or after. Keith gave me a lot of advice on how to learn to write. In the end, we wrote a paper together and published it as co-authors in Synthese.
Thanks to Keith, this was a huge achievement for me. But during those months in Heraklion, I gained not only a publication. I found a teacher—and, more importantly, a friend. We keep in touch with each other. I’m always glad to hear from him and Maria, and I often remember those days in Heraklion with warmth and joy.
