Mog (Margarita) Stapleton

Course: PhD

Cluster: Mind & Cognition

Start date: 2007

Supervisors: Andy Clark and Julian Kiverstein

Thesis

My PhD dissertation centres around trying to understand the relation between emotion and cognition, and exploring what will give us a satisfactory explanation of these categories for the purposes of cognitive science. I intend to submit sometime in the academic year 2010/2011.

Research Interests

Embodied cognition; enactivism; the neuroscience of emotion and mood; the phenomenology of emotion and mood; psychoneuroendocrinology.

Previous degrees

• 2004-2005: MSc in Cognitive Science, University of Edinburgh
• 2002-2004: MLitt in Philosophy, University of St Andrews
• 1997-2002: MA (hons) in Philosophy and German, University of Glasgow

Publications

• Thompson, E & Stapleton, M. (2009) "Making Sense of Sense-Making: Reflections on Enactive and Extended Mind Theories". Topoi. 28:23-30. (pdf)

   

  In preparation

  • Review of Fred H. Previc, The Dopaminergic Mind in Human Evolution and History.
  • Review of Jean-Pierre Dupuy, On the Origins of Cognitive Science: The Mechanization of the Mind.
  • Chapter on Emotion for Marraffa, M. and Paternoster, A. (Ed.'s) Scienze cognitive. Un'introduzione filosofica (Cognitive Sciences. A Philosophical Introduction).

Recent and forthcoming conference papers (peer reviewed)

• "Towards Integrating Emotion into Accounts of Cognition; An Argument at Three Levels". European Society for Philosophy and Psychology (ESPP) Annual Conference, Budapest, 28/08/09.
• "Phenomenology and Dynamics". Phenomenology and Philosophy of Mind Postgraduate Conference, University of Durham, 01/07/08.
• "Three Worries about 'Embodiment or Envatment'; A response to Cosmelli & Thompson (forthcoming)". ESPRA 2, CNCC Conference on Subjectivity and the Body, Center for Subjectivity Research, Copenhagen, Denmark, 31/01/08.

Work in progress, workshop, and poster presentations

• "Leaky Levels and the Case for Proper Embodiment". Mind and Cognition Graduate Workshop, University of Edinburgh, 11/05/09.
• "Levelling the Mind: An investigation into the relevant level of detail for understanding cognition". Departmental Work in Progress Seminar, University of Edinburgh, 18/03/09.
• "Towards Integrating Emotion into Accounts of Consciousness". CONTACT Work in Progress Workshop, University of Bristol, 11/12/2008.
• "Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places; Towards a Dynamical theory of Emotions". Departmental Work in Progress Seminar, University of Edinburgh, 19/03/08.
• "Autopoiesis, Emotion, and Consciousness". Departmental Work in Progress Seminar, University of Edinburgh, 28/02/07.

Awards

• George Scott Travelling Scholarship 2008/2009 - Used to visit Evan Thompson at the University of Toronto (Sep-Dec 2008).
• AHRC Studentship 2007-2009 (through the CONTACT project).
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) Postgraduate Award 2004-2005.

Teaching

• 2009-2010: Seminar Tutor, University of Edinburgh.
  
  • Mind, Matter, and Language (Level 8).
• 2006-2008: Seminar Tutor, University of Edinburgh.
  
  • Introduction to Philosophy (Level 8).
  • Logic 1 (Level 8).
• July 2007: Seminar Tutor, University of Edinburgh, Kickstart School Outreach.
  
  • 'Introduction to Philosophy at University' for City of Edinburgh S5 pupils (taught with Tom Roberts & Lise Marie Andersen).

Other roles

• 2008-2010: Member of the Philosophy staff-postgraduate student consultative committee.
• 2007-2008: Philosophy department PhD representative.
• 2007-2008: School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (PPLS) PhD representative.

Conferences and workshops organised

• Philosophy of Psychology, Neuroscience and Biology Postgraduate Conference (PPNB 2008), University of Edinburgh, 26th June 2008. Organised with Julian Kiverstein.
• Philosophy of Mind Reading Weekend for Postgraduates and Faculty in Scotland, Aviemore, 13th-16th April 2007.
• MIND2006 - A two day graduate conference on the Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science, University of Sussex, 15th-16th June 2006. I was the on-site organiser. Organised with Ezio Di Nucci and Conor McHugh.
• Machine Consciousness Symposium - (Part of AISB'06), 3rd-6th April 2006. Organised with Rob Clowes.

Affiliations and professional memberships

• Affiliated with the research group for Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science (PAICS) at the University of Sussex.
• Student member of the European Society for Philosophy and Psychology (ESPP).
• Associate member of the International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE).
• Member of euCognition (2008-2009) and EUCogII - 2nd European Network for the Advancement of Artificial Cognitive Systems, Interaction and Robotics (2009-present).