Luke Kersten, PhD
/Luke Kersten/
Personal Website: https://lukekersten.weebly.com/
Contact
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts - Philosophy Dept
- kersten@ualberta.ca
- Address
-
2-45 Assiniboia Hall
9137 116 St NWEdmonton ABT6G 2E7
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Philosophy of Mind Philosophy of Cognitive Science Philosophy of AI Philosophy of Science
About
I received my PhD from the University of Edinburgh. I previously held positions at the University of Lisbon and Ruhr-Universität Bochum, as well as visiting positions at the University of London and University College Cork. In my downtime, I enjoy playing hockey, reading, and exploring the great outdoors.
Research
My primary research is in philosophy of mind and cognitive science. I tend to approach topics from a naturalistic and empirically-informed perspective, but I am open and interested in other approaches. In more recent years, I have started to explore topics in philosophy of AI and philosophy of science.
Teaching
While my core teaching tends to be in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, I also enjoy teaching courses on ancient philosophy, ethics, logic, and philosophy of science. I have also done a fair amount of teaching with primary and secondary students and teachers as part of my involvement with philosophy in schools programmes in the UK and Canada.
Courses
PHIL 205 - Philosophy of Mind
Basic questions concerning the mind and our attempts to study it scientifically.
PHIL 265 - Philosophy of Science
An introduction to the central issues in contemporary philosophy of science. Topics may include theory evaluation, paradigm shifts and theory change, laws of nature, causation and explanation, the rationality of science and its social and historical setting.
PHIL 385 - Ethics and Artificial Intelligence
A study of ethical issues raised by artificial intelligence systems.
PHIL 405 - Topics in Philosophy of Mind
Prerequisite: At least 6 units in PHIL, 3 units of which must be at the 200-level, or consent of Department.
PHIL 505 - Philosophy of Mind
Featured Publications
Leonard Dung and Luke Kersten
Mind and Language. 2025 June; 40 (3):285-305
Luke Kersten
Thought: A Journal of Philosophy. 2024 September; 12 (1):16-27 10.5840/tht202492035
Luke Kersten
Minds and Machines. 2024 June; 34 (18):1-21 10.1007/s11023-024-09678-w
Luke Kersten
The Routledge Handbook of Embodied Cognition. 2024 May; 10.4324/9781003322511-13
Luke Kersten
Philosophical Explorations. 2024 March; 27 (2):1-18 10.1080/13869795.2024.2332171
Luke Kersten
Synthese. 2024 March; 283 (99):1-23 10.1007/s11229-024-04526-x
Luke Kersten
Minds and Machines. 2023 March; 33 (1):113-134 10.1007/s11023-022-09617-7
Luke Kersten
Synthese. 2022 August; 200 (281):1-23 10.1007/s11229-022-03674-2
Luke Kersten
Philosophical Explorations. 2020 September; 23 (3):251-266 10.1080/13869795.2020.1799664
Luke Kersten
Philosophical Psychology. 2017 July; 30 (8):1078-1103 10.1080/09515089.2017.1350946
Luke Kersten
Review of Philosophy and Psychology. 2017 January; 8 (3):501-517 10.1007/s13164-016-0322-3
Luke Kersten and Robert A. Wilson
American Philosophical Quarterly. 2016 April; 53 (2):139-154
View additional publications