Profile

I have recently joined the Warwick Philosophy Department having previously held a temporary lectureship at the University of Glasgow (2011-2013). Prior to that I was a PhD student at Glasgow where I was supervised by Michael Brady and Martin Smith.

Research Interests

My primary area of research is in moral epistemology, although I have broader interests in the nature and epistemology of perception, intuition and emotion. My previous publications have focused on the prospects for 'perceptual' accounts of moral knowledge. I argue that even if moral perception occurs it does not play an epistemically basic role.

I am currently working on a few things:

1. assessing the prospects for self-evidence theories of moral knowledge, and;
2. assessing whether the reasons-responsiveness and cognitive permeability of
   emotions casts doubt on 'perceptual' models of their nature and epistemology;
3. exploring further the epistemological ramifications of cognitive penetration.

Publications

• 'Cognitive Penetrability and Ethical Perception' The Review of Philosophy and Psychology (forthcoming)
• Review of Robert Audi's Moral Perception Mind (forthcoming)
• 'Perceptual Intuitionism' Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 87 (1) (2013)
• 'Clarifying Ethical Intuitionism' European Journal of Philosophy 21 (2) 2013
• 'Ethical Intuitionism' Oxford Bibliographies Online (2012)

Works In Progress/Under Review

• 'Evaluative Perception' book proposal for OUP

Teaching and Supervision

I currently teach the the PPE PH337 Economics and Philosophy module (co-taught with Peter Hammond) and the PH211 Ethics module. I am also tutoring on the PH133 Introduction to Philosophy module.

I am happy to supervise students in any of the areas related to my research.

I am also the Graduate Professional Development Officer. We are running a series of seminars on Graduate Professional Development. See this link for details of the schedule.

r.cowan@warwick.ac.uk

www.robertcowan.net

 

Tel: 024 765 22323

Office: S2.49, Office Hours: Mondays 3-4, Wednesdays 10-11, and by appointment