Katalin Balog Associate Professor Department of Philosophy, Rutgers-Newark kbalog at andromeda dot rutgers dot edu

I am a Senior Research Fellow at Central European University Institute for Advanced Studies in the Spring of 2012. Upcoming talks and events: “Psychology, Neuroscience, and the Consciousness Dilemma” ”, at the Budapest Workshop in Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science, Central European University, May 14-15^th, 2012. Principal Faculty at the NEH Summer Research Institute Investigating Consciousness: Buddhist and Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives at the College of Charleston, May-June 2012. Keynote speaker at the conference „Indexicality and the Mind: Phenomenal Concepts and the Explanation of Consciousness in a Physicalistic Framework“ at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University, July 27-28, 2012. Speaker at the Conference on Phenomenal Concepts at the Center of Ethics and Philosophy of Mind at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, January 24-27, 2013. I came to the US in 1989 from my native Budapest. Most of the time since I have been living in New York with my family Milan and Barry Loewer. I got my PhD at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. In the year 1998-1999 I was at Cornell University on a Mellon Fellowship. Among the other great things that happened that year, Milan was born in Ithaca in October 1998. I taught philosophy at Yale University between 2000 and 2010, first as an assistant, then, after 2006, as an associate professor. During 2005-2006, I was a senior fellow at Collegium Budapest, supported by an AAUW grant. I have recently accepted an offer from Rutgers University/Newark and started as an associate professor here in the Fall of 2010. I am also on the graduate faculty at Rutgers/New Brunswick. My primary areas of research are the philosophy of mind/psychology and metaphysics. The problems that interest me most, the mind-body problem, the self, and free will lie at their intersection. I am currently writing a monograph tentatively entitled Through a glass darkly: conceivability and the Mind-Body Problem. I argue that our lack of understanding the connection between mind and body is due to the nature of phenomenal concepts. In my view, phenomenal concepts are partly constituted by the phenomenal states they apply to. This account explains the puzzling features of phenomenal consciousness, including the conceivability of zombies and the explanatory gap in a way that is compatible with both a physicalist and non-physicalist framework. I argue that, based on this account of phenomenal concepts, the physicalist can adequately respond to anti-physicalist challenges but also notice that there is a puzzling symmetry between anti-physicalist attacks and physicalist replies. Each position can be developed in a way to defend itself from attacks from the other position. If the debate over ontology can be decided at all, it can be decided by comparing which metaphysics provides the better overall explanatory/theoretical framework. I also have a deep interest in Buddhist psychology and philosophy. I am trying to find ways to integrate contemplative practice and theory into both my teaching and research. In my spare time I like to hang out with my family, play the piano, and travel. Here is my CV. Book length project Papers Survey articles and substantial reviews Reviews and occasional pieces Courses Towards Qualia (2007), a very cool piano sextet by Richard Carrick, performed by Either/Or Photos Links Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science David Chalmers’ web page (a great resource in philosophy of mind and consciousness) PhilPapers Shambhala Meditation Center of New York Last updated on April 25th, 2012