Joseph B. McCaffrey
Curriculum Vitae
Contact Information
Department of Philosophy and Philosophy-
Neuroscience-Psychology Program
Washington University in St. Louis
101 Wilson Hall, Cell: 541-510-8320
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis MO 63130
E-mail: jbmccaffrey@wustl.edu, Alt. jbmccaffrey@gmail.com, Website: josephbmccaffrey.com
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Neuroscience & Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mind
Areas of Competence
Philosophy of Biology, Moral Psychology, Biomedical Ethics (including Neuroethics)
Academic Appointments
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Philosophy and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program (2016-present)
Washington University in St. Louis
Education
Ph.D., History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh (2016)
Dissertation: Mental Function and Cerebral Cartography: Functional Localization in fMRI Research
Committee: Edouard Machery (director; Pittsburgh, HPS)
Peter Machamer (director; Pittsburgh, HPS)
Mazviita Chirimuuta (Pittsburgh, HPS)
David Plaut (Carnegie Mellon, Psychology)
David Danks (Carnegie Mellon, Philosophy)
Graduate Certificate in Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (2016)
B.A., Biology with minor in Philosophy, Magna cum laude, The Colorado College (2007)
Publications
McCaffrey, J. and Machery, E. (2016). "The Reification Objection to Bottom Up Cognitive Ontology Revision"," commentary on "Précis of After Phrenology: Neural Reuse and The Interactive Brain," by Michael Anderson, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 39: 1-45.
McCaffrey, J. (2015). "The Brain's Heterogeneous Functional Landscape," Philosophy of Science, 82(5): 1010-1022.
McCaffrey, J. (2015). “Reconceiving Conceptual Vehicles: Lessons from Semantic Dementia,” Philosophical Psychology, 28(3), 337-354.
McCaffrey, J. (2013). “Concepts in the Brain: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and Categorization,” Protosociology, 30, 167-190.
McCaffrey, J. and Machery, E. (2012). “Philosophical Issues About Concepts,” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 3(2), 265-279.
McCaffrey, J. and Galen, C. (2011). “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Impact of Nesting Behavior on the Altitudinal Range of an Alpine Ant, Formica neorufibarbis,” Environmental Entomology, 40(3), 534-540.
Honors and Awards
Travel Award, Oral History Training Workshop, Chemical Heritage Foundation (2016)
Josephine De Karman Fellowship (2015-2016)
Wesley C. Salmon Travel Fund (2015)
National Science Foundation Travel Grant (2014)
William James Prize for Best Graduate Student Essay, 38th Annual Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology (2012)
Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition (2011)
Phi Beta Kappa (2007)
Conference Presentations
Contributed
*"Does the Brain Respect Basic Emotion Theory? Pattern Classification and Correspondence in fMRI Research" Philosophy of Science Association, (Atlanta, Georgia) November 2016
"Neuroimaging and Cognitive Ontologies: Does Discriminability Warrant Kind Splitting?" (poster) Rethinking the Taxonomy of Psychology Workshop, (London, Ontario) April 2016
"Is Memory a Form of Episodic Simulation?" (With Sarah Robins), Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (Louisville, KY), March 2016
--(poster) Society for Philosophy and Psychology (Austin, TX) June 2016
"Pernicious Stipulations," (with Dave Colaço and Joshua Alexander), Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (Raleigh-Durham, NC) June 2015
"The Brain's Heterogeneous Functional Landscape," Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (New Orleans, LA) April 2015
"Neural Multi-Functionality and Mechanistic Role Functions," Philosophy of Science Association, (Chicago, IL) Nov. 2014
"A Mechanistic Approach to Multi-Functional Brain Areas," 30th Boulder Conference on the History and Philosophy of Science, (Boulder, CO) Oct. 2014
“Reconceiving Conceptual Vehicles: Lessons from Semantic Dementia,” Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (Boulder, CO) June 2012
“The Investigative Role of Prefrontal Lobotomy,” History of Science Society, (San Diego, CA) Nov. 2012
2008: “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Rock-Nesting as Thermoregulation in the Ant Formica neorufibarbis gelida wheeler,” (POSTER) with Galen, C., McKinley, A & Kelso, S.,Ecological Society of America, (Milwaukee, WI) Aug. 2008
Invited
"Cognitive Ontology Revision: Structure and Function," Workshop on Free Will and Cognitive Ontologies, (Berlin) Feb. 2015
“Varieties of Neural Multi-Functionality,” (POSTER) Conference on Experimentation in Neuroscience, (Pittsburgh, PA) Dec. 2013
Teaching Experience
Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Philosophy and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program
Instructor: PNP Seminar: Philosophical Issues in Brain Imaging
University of Pittsburgh, History and Philosophy of Science (2010-present)
Instructor: Morality and Medicine
Instructor: Myth and Science
Teaching Assistant: Mind and Medicine, Advisor: Edouard Machery
Teaching Assistant: The Nature of the Emotions, Advisor: James Lennox
University of Missouri, Department of Biological Sciences (2008-2009)
Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Biological Systems Laboratory (BIO 1500), Advisor: Richard Daniels
Selected Graduate Courses
History and Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Science Core; Philosophy of Cognitive Science; Moral Psychology; Method and Interpretation in Cognitive Neuroscience: A Science of Consciousness?; Central Problems in Systems Neuroscience; Explanations, Causes, and Mechanisms; The Gene: Transformation and Fragmentation of a Concept; Philosophy of Psychiatry; Robustness and Multi-Level Explanations in Biological Systems; Epistemology of Experimental Practices; Science and Values; Evolutionary Theory II; History of Science I & II; Advanced Logic
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
Fundamentals of Functional MRI; Cognitive Neuroscience; Advanced Cellular Neuroscience; Advanced Systems Neuroscience; Neurobiology of Disease; Introduction to Parallel Distributed Processing
Professional Service
Journal Referee: Philosophy of Science, Synthese, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophy Compass, and Lato Sensu
Conference Organization
Program Assistant, Workshop on Diagrams as Vehicles of Scientific Reasoning, Center for Philosophy of Science (Pittsburgh, PA) April 2015
Program Assistant, Philosophy Meets Cultural Diversity, Center for Philosophy of Science (Pittsburgh, PA) March 2015
Conference Chairperson, 15th Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Conference in Philosophy: Perception, Models, and Learning, (Pittsburgh, PA) April 2013
Organizing Committee Member, 14th Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Conference in Philosophy: Mind, Method, and Morality, (Pittsburgh, PA) April 2012
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
Host and Organizer for Joshua Greene’s CNBC Colloquium Visit (Pittsburgh, PA) Nov. 2012
History and Philosophy of Science Department, University of Pittsburgh
Assistant Webmaster, (Pittsburgh, PA) Winter 2012-Spring 2013
Professional Membership
Philosophy of Science Association
Society for Philosophy and Psychology
Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology
American Philosophical Association
Department of Philosophy and Philosophy-
Neuroscience-Psychology Program
Washington University in St. Louis
101 Wilson Hall, Cell: 541-510-8320
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis MO 63130
E-mail: jbmccaffrey@wustl.edu, Alt. jbmccaffrey@gmail.com, Website: josephbmccaffrey.com
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Neuroscience & Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mind
Areas of Competence
Philosophy of Biology, Moral Psychology, Biomedical Ethics (including Neuroethics)
Academic Appointments
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Philosophy and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program (2016-present)
Washington University in St. Louis
Education
Ph.D., History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh (2016)
Dissertation: Mental Function and Cerebral Cartography: Functional Localization in fMRI Research
Committee: Edouard Machery (director; Pittsburgh, HPS)
Peter Machamer (director; Pittsburgh, HPS)
Mazviita Chirimuuta (Pittsburgh, HPS)
David Plaut (Carnegie Mellon, Psychology)
David Danks (Carnegie Mellon, Philosophy)
Graduate Certificate in Cognitive Neuroscience, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (2016)
B.A., Biology with minor in Philosophy, Magna cum laude, The Colorado College (2007)
Publications
McCaffrey, J. and Machery, E. (2016). "The Reification Objection to Bottom Up Cognitive Ontology Revision"," commentary on "Précis of After Phrenology: Neural Reuse and The Interactive Brain," by Michael Anderson, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 39: 1-45.
McCaffrey, J. (2015). "The Brain's Heterogeneous Functional Landscape," Philosophy of Science, 82(5): 1010-1022.
McCaffrey, J. (2015). “Reconceiving Conceptual Vehicles: Lessons from Semantic Dementia,” Philosophical Psychology, 28(3), 337-354.
McCaffrey, J. (2013). “Concepts in the Brain: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and Categorization,” Protosociology, 30, 167-190.
McCaffrey, J. and Machery, E. (2012). “Philosophical Issues About Concepts,” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 3(2), 265-279.
McCaffrey, J. and Galen, C. (2011). “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Impact of Nesting Behavior on the Altitudinal Range of an Alpine Ant, Formica neorufibarbis,” Environmental Entomology, 40(3), 534-540.
Honors and Awards
Travel Award, Oral History Training Workshop, Chemical Heritage Foundation (2016)
Josephine De Karman Fellowship (2015-2016)
Wesley C. Salmon Travel Fund (2015)
National Science Foundation Travel Grant (2014)
William James Prize for Best Graduate Student Essay, 38th Annual Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology (2012)
Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Competition (2011)
Phi Beta Kappa (2007)
Conference Presentations
Contributed
*"Does the Brain Respect Basic Emotion Theory? Pattern Classification and Correspondence in fMRI Research" Philosophy of Science Association, (Atlanta, Georgia) November 2016
"Neuroimaging and Cognitive Ontologies: Does Discriminability Warrant Kind Splitting?" (poster) Rethinking the Taxonomy of Psychology Workshop, (London, Ontario) April 2016
"Is Memory a Form of Episodic Simulation?" (With Sarah Robins), Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (Louisville, KY), March 2016
--(poster) Society for Philosophy and Psychology (Austin, TX) June 2016
"Pernicious Stipulations," (with Dave Colaço and Joshua Alexander), Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (Raleigh-Durham, NC) June 2015
"The Brain's Heterogeneous Functional Landscape," Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (New Orleans, LA) April 2015
"Neural Multi-Functionality and Mechanistic Role Functions," Philosophy of Science Association, (Chicago, IL) Nov. 2014
"A Mechanistic Approach to Multi-Functional Brain Areas," 30th Boulder Conference on the History and Philosophy of Science, (Boulder, CO) Oct. 2014
“Reconceiving Conceptual Vehicles: Lessons from Semantic Dementia,” Society for Philosophy and Psychology, (Boulder, CO) June 2012
“The Investigative Role of Prefrontal Lobotomy,” History of Science Society, (San Diego, CA) Nov. 2012
2008: “Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Rock-Nesting as Thermoregulation in the Ant Formica neorufibarbis gelida wheeler,” (POSTER) with Galen, C., McKinley, A & Kelso, S.,Ecological Society of America, (Milwaukee, WI) Aug. 2008
Invited
"Cognitive Ontology Revision: Structure and Function," Workshop on Free Will and Cognitive Ontologies, (Berlin) Feb. 2015
“Varieties of Neural Multi-Functionality,” (POSTER) Conference on Experimentation in Neuroscience, (Pittsburgh, PA) Dec. 2013
Teaching Experience
Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Philosophy and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program
Instructor: PNP Seminar: Philosophical Issues in Brain Imaging
University of Pittsburgh, History and Philosophy of Science (2010-present)
Instructor: Morality and Medicine
Instructor: Myth and Science
Teaching Assistant: Mind and Medicine, Advisor: Edouard Machery
Teaching Assistant: The Nature of the Emotions, Advisor: James Lennox
University of Missouri, Department of Biological Sciences (2008-2009)
Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Biological Systems Laboratory (BIO 1500), Advisor: Richard Daniels
Selected Graduate Courses
History and Philosophy of Science
Philosophy of Science Core; Philosophy of Cognitive Science; Moral Psychology; Method and Interpretation in Cognitive Neuroscience: A Science of Consciousness?; Central Problems in Systems Neuroscience; Explanations, Causes, and Mechanisms; The Gene: Transformation and Fragmentation of a Concept; Philosophy of Psychiatry; Robustness and Multi-Level Explanations in Biological Systems; Epistemology of Experimental Practices; Science and Values; Evolutionary Theory II; History of Science I & II; Advanced Logic
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
Fundamentals of Functional MRI; Cognitive Neuroscience; Advanced Cellular Neuroscience; Advanced Systems Neuroscience; Neurobiology of Disease; Introduction to Parallel Distributed Processing
Professional Service
Journal Referee: Philosophy of Science, Synthese, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophy Compass, and Lato Sensu
Conference Organization
Program Assistant, Workshop on Diagrams as Vehicles of Scientific Reasoning, Center for Philosophy of Science (Pittsburgh, PA) April 2015
Program Assistant, Philosophy Meets Cultural Diversity, Center for Philosophy of Science (Pittsburgh, PA) March 2015
Conference Chairperson, 15th Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Conference in Philosophy: Perception, Models, and Learning, (Pittsburgh, PA) April 2013
Organizing Committee Member, 14th Annual Pitt-CMU Graduate Conference in Philosophy: Mind, Method, and Morality, (Pittsburgh, PA) April 2012
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
Host and Organizer for Joshua Greene’s CNBC Colloquium Visit (Pittsburgh, PA) Nov. 2012
History and Philosophy of Science Department, University of Pittsburgh
Assistant Webmaster, (Pittsburgh, PA) Winter 2012-Spring 2013
Professional Membership
Philosophy of Science Association
Society for Philosophy and Psychology
Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology
American Philosophical Association
