Thomas Metzinger

Thomas Metzinger
Metzinger in 2022
Born (1958-03-12) 12 March 1958 (age 66)
Frankfurt, West Germany
EducationGoethe University Frankfurt
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
InstitutionsUniversity of Giessen
University of Osnabruck
University of Mainz
Main interests
Notable ideas
Phenomenal Self model (PSM)

Thomas Metzinger (born 12 March 1958) is a German philosopher and Professor Emeritus of theoretical philosophy at the University of Mainz. His primary research areas include philosophy of mind, philosophy of neuroscience, and applied ethics, particularly focusing on neurotechnology, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. He has argued in his book Being No One that the phenomenal self is a mental construct created by the brain.[1] His 2024 book The Elephant and the Blind compiled extensive research on meditation.

Academic career

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Metzinger studied philosophy, ethnology, and theology at Goethe University Frankfurt. He received his doctorate there in 1985, with a thesis on the mind-body problem. In 1992, he completed his habilitation at the University of Giessen. In 2000, Metzinger was appointed professor of philosophy of cognitive science at Osnabrück University, but moved to the University of Mainz in the same year.[2]

Metzinger cofounded in 1994 of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness,[3][4] of which he has been a board and committee member, and was the 2010 president.[5] From 2005 to 2007 he was president of the German Cognitive Science Society.[6] Metzinger is an Adjunct Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies,[7] a co-founder of the German Effective Altruism Foundation,[8] president of the Barbara Wengeler Foundation,[9] and on the advisory board of the Giordano Bruno Foundation[10] and the MIND Foundation.[11] From 2008 to 2009, he served as a Fellow at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study;[12] from 2014 to 2019, he was a Fellow at the Gutenberg Research College; from 2019 to 2022, he was awarded a Senior-Forschungsprofessur by the Ministry of Science, Education and Culture.[13] In 2019 he founded the MPE project.[14] From 2018 to 2020, Metzinger worked as a member of the European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence.[15] In 2022 he was elected into the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.[16]

Personal life

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Metzinger has practiced meditation twice a day for over forty years.[17] He has recommended vipassana practice.[18]

Bibliography

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Monographs
  • (1985) Neuere Beiträge zur Diskussion des Leib-Seele-Problems. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, ISBN 3-8204-8927-4
  • (1993) Subjekt und Selbstmodell. Die Perspektivität phänomenalen Bewußtseins vor dem Hintergrund einer naturalistischen Theorie mentaler Repräsentation. mentis, Paderborn, ISBN 3-89785-081-8
  • (2003) Being No One. The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts., ISBN 0-262-13417-9 (Hardcover)/ISBN 0262633086 (Paperback)
  • (2009) The Ego Tunnel - The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self Basic Books, New York, ISBN 0-465-04567-7
  • (2009) Der Ego-Tunnel - Eine neue Philosophie des Selbst: Von der Hirnforschung zur Bewusstseinsethik Berlin Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 3-8270-0630-9
  • (2010) Der Ego Tunnel. Eine neue Philosophie des Selbst: Von der Hirnforschung zur Bewusstseinsethik. Berlin: Berlin Verlag. eBook ISBN 978-3-8270-7037-1
  • (2011) Being No One. The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Kindle edition; ASIN: B004ELBJ56
  • (2023) Bewusstseinskultur - Spiritualität, intellektuelle Redlichkeit und die planetare Krise. Berlin, Berlin Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8270-1488-7
  • (2023) Der Elefant und die Blinden. Berlin Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-8270-1487-0
  • (2024) The Elephant and the Blind. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press ISBN 978-0-2625-4710-9 Open Access
Editorship

References

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  1. ^ Rothman, Joshua (26 March 2018). "Are We Already Living in Virtual Reality?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Prof. Dr. Thomas Metzinger (März 2014)". University of Mainz (in German). Archived from the original on 6 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Prof. Thomas Metzinger". Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  4. ^ "About Us". theASSC.org. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Past Leadership". Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Alte Vorstände". Gesellschaft für Kognitionswissenschaft ev (in German). Archived from the original on 11 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Fellows". Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  8. ^ deutschlandfunkkultur.de (17 April 2016). "Philosophiemagazin - Nächstenliebe – möglichst kosteneffizient". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Der Vorstand". Barbara-Wengeler-Stiftung (in German). Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Advisory board". Giordano Bruno Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Scientific advisory board". MIND foundation. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin". Thomas Metzinger, Dr. phil. (in German). Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Archiv von Mitteilungen des Philosophischen Seminars | Philosophisches Seminar". Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (in German). Archived from the original on 14 April 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024. Die Seniorforschungsprofessur hat eine Laufzeit von drei Jahren (bis zum 31.03.2022). [The senior research professorship has a term of three years (until March 31, 2022).]
  14. ^ "The MPE project". Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  15. ^ "AI HLEG - steering group of the European AI Alliance". European Commission. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  16. ^ "List of Members | Thomas Metzinger". National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
  17. ^ (2024) The Elephant and the Blind. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press ISBN 978-0-2625-4710-9
  18. ^ Geleta, Matthew. "Thomas Metzinger: Neuroethics, Psychedelics, and Conscious AI". Paradigm. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
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