Robert Gordon (Ph.D., Columbia) works primarily in philosophy of mind
and cognitive science. For his Master's degree he specialized in Medieval and Renaissance
philosophy, with a thesis on Nicholas of Cusa. His doctoral dissertation was in ethics
and metaethics, on universalizability and analogy in moral arguments.
While teaching at the University of Wisconsin, Gordon shifted to the topic of emotions, a
part of the philosophy of mind. He was one of the earliest philosophers to develop a theory
that emphasized the cognitive content of emotions, particularly the types of beliefs and
other mental states that cause various emotions. His work on the topic was published in
Philosophical Review, American Philosophical Quarterly, Analysis, Journal of Philosophy, and
other journals, culminating in his book, The Structure of Emotions (Cambridge University Press,
1987).
Gordon's current focus is on developing the simulation theory, which he introduced in 1986 and
developed further in numerous articles since then. The theory holds that we understand other
human beings by mentally simulating them -- that is, by generating the same sorts of brain
processes that guide our own behavior. Of course, we're not all in the same situation, and
we're not all psychologically alike. That's where the sorts of processes that underlie pretending
and imagining have to come into play, so that we can "put ourselves in another's place." (For an
introduction to the topic, see
"Folk Psychology as Mental Simulation" from the
Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, or the draft entry on
"Simulation Theory" for the Encyclopedia of
Cognitive Science, Nature Publishing Group.)
The theory has been the topic of numerous books and articles by philosophers and psychologists,
and several conferences, symposia, and workshops in the US and abroad. Although it was initially
developed as an alternative to prevailing philosophical theories of our commonsense
"folk psychology," Gordon applied it also to some experimental results concerning children's
understanding of mind and behavior -- and the apparent lack of understanding on the part of
people with autism. Subsequently the theory has become one of the two or three chief contenders
in developmental psychologists' research on "the child's theory of mind." In cognitive
neuroscience, the simulation theory has had a major impact on theorizing about the role of
"mirror neurons" and other mirroring systems in anticipating and interpreting the actions and
emotional expressions of others. It has also influenced discussion of social cognition in
primates and has even been called on to explain the deceptive food-hiding behavior of certain
bird species. In social robotics, teams at MIT and elsewhere have recently been applying the
simulation theory in developing robots that can "interpret" the behavior of other robots or of
human beings.
Gordon has held research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the
American Council of Learned Societies. In 1999 he directed an NEH Summer Seminar for College
and University Teachers, on the topic, "Folk Psychology vs. Mental Simulation: How Minds
Understand Minds." Before coming to the University of Missouri, Gordon taught at the University
of Wisconsin and the University of Florida, and was visiting professor at the University of
Helsinki.
Link to
1999
NEH Seminar Page
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