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Phone:: (023) 8059 7441
Email:: will.mcneill@soton.ac.uk

Dr William E.S. McNeill PhD, MPhil

Lecturer, Undergraduate Admissions Officer

Related links: Personal homepage

I study the philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, the sciences and epistemology.

My current research concerns the nature and epistemological role of perception – both natural and artificial.

What can artificial neural networks tell us about natural cognitive processes and their epistemological role?

How can we provide a good model of the role of perceptual experience in securing knowledge of our environment?

I teach subjects including the philosophy of science, philosophy of mind & psychology, the epistemology of mind and early modern philosophy.

Advice and Feedback Hours

Wednesday 13:30-14:30

In room 1131 at Avenue (Building 65).

Research

Responsibilities

Publications

Teaching

Contact

Research interests

Artificial intelligence – explanatory opacity, the nature and role of machine learning systems, the ramifications of their implementation

Perception, perceptual recognition and perceptual knowledge – high-level feature recognition, the role of inference in perceptual knowledge

Epistemology - the natures of good inductive inference and scientific explanation

Social cognition and infant social development

Research group

Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind and Epistemology

Advisory Board Member – Network+ grant, artificial intelligence for scientific development

Departmental Employability Coordinator

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Articles

Mcneill, W. (2016). The visual role of objects' facing surfaces. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 92(2), 411-431. https://doi.org/10.1111/phpr.12166
Mcneill, W. (2015). Inferentialism and our knowledge of others’ minds. Philosophical Studies, 172(6), 1435-1454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-014-0358-0
Mcneill, W. (2015). Seeing what you want. Consciousness and Cognition, 36, 554-564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2015.04.018
Mcneill, W. (2012). Embodiment and the Perceptual Hypothesis. The Philosophical Quarterly, 62(248), 570-591. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9213.2012.00065.x
Mcneill, W. (2012). On seeing that someone is angry. European Journal of Philosophy, 20(4), 575-597. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0378.2010.00421.x
Mcneill, W. (2011). Review: Perception and Basic Beliefs: Zombies, Modules, and the Problem of the External World, by Jack C. Lyons. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. Pp. Xvii+198. H/b £40.00. Mind, 120(480), 1271-1276. https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzs012

Book Chapter

McNeill, W. (2019). Expressions, looks and others' minds. In M. Parrott, & A. Avramides (Eds.), Knowing Other Minds Oxford University Press.

Conference

Mcneill, W., Kanza, S. (Ed.), Frey, J. G. (Ed.), Niranjan, M. (Ed.), & Hooper, V. (Ed.) (2020). AI3SD Video: Neural Networks and Explanatory Opacity. AI3SD Summer Seminar Series 2020, Southampton, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/P0049

Review

Kanza, S., Bird, C. L., Niranjan, M., Mcneill, W., & Frey, J. G. (2021). The AI for Scientific Discovery Network+. Patterns, 2(1), [100162]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2020.100162

Philosophy of Science

Problems of Other Minds

Appearance & Reality

Philosophy of Mind

Freedom & Responsibility

UG dissertations – artificial intelligence and artificial moral agency

MA Research Skills

MA Consciousness

Dr William E.S. McNeill
Email: will.mcneill@soton.ac.uk

Room Number : 65/1131

Dr William E.S. McNeill's personal home page

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