Professor Paul Coates
Position: Emeritus Professor of Mind and Metaphysics
Paul Coates BA, MA, PhD, took a first degree in Philosophy with Psychology, followed by an MA in Philosophy, at the University of Sussex. He took his PhD in Philosophy at University College, London. As Head of Philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire he led the Philosophy Group during a period of expansion from 1992 to 1999, and was Research Leader in Humanities from 1999-2002. He served a term as President of the Mind Association in 1998-1999, and gave the inaugural address at the 1998 annual conference held jointly by the Mind Association and the Aristotelian Society.
In 2006 Paul Coates acted as the British co-organiser of an international conference on Wilfrid Sellars: Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind after 50 Years, which took place at the Institute of Philosophy, London University, and was supported by grants from the British Academy, The Mind Association, and The Aristotelian Society. He has given invited lecture tours in Scotland and the United States on topics connected with perception. He was Principal Investigator of a three-year project to examine the nature of Phenomenal Qualities, funded by an award from the AHRC. He has published in Mind, Philosophical Quarterly, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Philosophical Studies, and other leading journals.
Research Interests
Perception and Phenomenal Qualities; Philosophy of Mind; Wilfrid Sellars; Scientific Realism; Kripke, Wittgenstein and Normativity; Philosophy of Chess.