Seyed Razavi-Nematollahi

Photo of Seyed Razavi-Nematollahi

Department of Philosophy
Doctoral researcher

Contact details

PhD title: Intentionality and Artificial Minds
Supervisors: Professor Scott Sturgeon and Dr Maja Spener
PhD Philosophy

Qualifications

  • BA Philosophy (First), the Open University
  • MA Philosophy (Distinction), Birkbeck College, University of London

Biography

20 years software engineering and technical architecture

Teaching

Philosopher's Toolkit (Logic) - Autumn 2021

Research

Cognitive psychology presupposes an explanatory role for representations. The assumption is that at least some mental states are representational and thus have intentionality, i.e., they are about things. Few cognitive psychologists believe that intentionality is fundamental. Thus, it must be explained in other terms. The question is whether any reductive approach can capture the intentionality attributed to cognitive agents. Can a naturalised intentionality grounded in computational neuroscience productively explain the psychology of cognitive agents? Relatedly, what kind of intentionality would an artificial system need to have for it to be considered a cognitive agent? I consider these questions as being two sides of the same coin, one top-down, the other bottom-up.