ANDREW JALEEL BURNSIDE

I am currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. My dissertation on normative foundations in critical social theory is advised by Idit Dobbs-Weinstein (chair), Karen Ng, Lucius T. Outlaw, Jr., and Amy Allen.

My research interests lie, broadly speaking, in the history of European philosophy. More specifically, I work on critical theory, social philosophy, and Spinoza. I maintain a deep interest in scholarship on Ancient and Medieval philosophy (especially on the possible limits of human insight). 

Moving forward, I am developing an interest in computer science and AI, especially on the question of AI and mental representation. I recently received an R&R from Synthese on a paper which argues that Spinoza's panpsychism is relevant in debates over whether AI, especially artificial neural networks (ANNs), can think.