Dr. phil.
Sabrina Coninx
Philosopher

I am currently located at the Institute for Philosophy II at the Ruhr University Bochum. I am a postdoctoral researcher and scientific coordinator of the Research Training Group Situated Cognition founded by the German Research Foundation. Before that I worked as an assistant professor and managing director of the Master’s program in cognitive science. I am part of the scientific organization committee of the Center for Mind & Cognition.
I obtained a PhD in philosophy at the Ruhr University Bochum under the supervision of Albert Newen and Colin Klein. During my PhD, I spent three months at the University of Memphis, working with Shaun Gallagher, and two months at the Australian National University in Canberra, working with Colin Klein. After my PhD, I was allowed to visit Frédérique de Vignemont at the Institut Jean Nicod in Paris and Kevin Reuter at the University of Zürich.
I obtained a Master degree in philosophy and a Bachelor degree in philosophy and psychology at the University of Bonn.
Please see my biography for more information. You may find me on Philpaper, Researchgate, Academia, and Twitter.
Research
My research is located in the empirically orientated philosophy of mind. That is, I am interested in multiple core aspects of the philosophy of mind while taking into account findings from neuroscience, psychology, biology, and clinical medicine.
My research focuses on mental phenomena related to human suffering which appears to me as one of the most enigmatic, but also fascinating research subjects. I have intensively worked on pain and other bodily sensations. My research encompasses the phenomenal character, neural implementation, causal embeddedness, and biological function of these mental phenomena. My investigations relate to topics, such as the construction of quality spaces, the challenges of intentionalism, and the debate surrounding scientific eliminativism.
Recently, I have extended my field of research to different kinds of suffering and developed mutliple follow-up projects located at the interface of philosophy and clinical medicine. This includes a better understanding of how to model different conditions, such as chronic pain or depression, and how to best approach them by means of therapeutical measures. Core concepts of situated cognition are proving to be increasingly influential in such research (e.g. affordances, scaffolding, niche construction).
Another research area of mine is the philosophy of social understanding, especially the plurality of epistemic strategies and the role of mindreading. Furthermore, I am currently exploring the relevance of experimental philosophy with respect to pain reports.
Areas of Specialisation
Philosophy of Mind
Neuro-philosophy
Philosophy of Cognitive Science
Situated Cognition
Social Cognition
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Psychiatry
Experimental Philosophy
Research Topics
Phenomenal Quality
Quality Spaces
Intentionalism
Functionalism
Identity Theory
Scientific Eliminativism
Scientific Integration
Field of Affordances
Scaffolding
Niche Construction
Research Subjects
Pain
Bodily Sensations
Human Suffering
Emotions
Depression
Affective Disorders
Mind Shaping & Invasion
Mindreading
News
All the latest news concerning research projects, publications, talks, & collaborations
Research & Publications
Detailed description of research projects & related publications
Biography
Information about my academic career, educational background, funding, & grants
Talks
List of selected talks & other conference contributions
Academic Activities
Teaching, conference organization, & administrative work