Gualtiero Piccinini

Gualtiero Piccinini is an Italian-American philosopher recognized for his extensive work in the philosophy of mind, computation, psychology, and neuroscience. Born in 1970 in Italy, he pursued his academic journey through philosophy and cognitive science at the University of Turin, graduating cum laude. He further specialized in the history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh, earning his Ph.D. in 2003. His early career included a postdoctoral fellowship at the PNP program at Washington University in St. Louis. Piccinini has held prominent academic positions, including serving as a professor at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and previously at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, where he also chaired the Philosophy Department and held associate director positions. He has been a visiting professor at various institutions globally. Piccinini is particularly known for his "mechanistic account of computation," detailed in his book *Physical Computation: A Mechanistic Account*. He advocates for a view where computation is a mechanistic process not necessarily requiring representation. His work also delves into neural computation, arguing it is sui generis, and emphasizes the integration of psychology and neuroscience to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the mind, as explored in his book *Neurocognitive Mechanisms: Explaining Biological Cognition*. He has also critiqued pancomputationalism and defended the scientific legitimacy of first-person data. Piccinini has received numerous accolades, including National Science Foundation Scholars' Awards and the K. Jon Barwise Prize, and has founded academic groups like "Brains" and ISPSM. He has also served as an editor for several journals and is the editor-in-chief of Springer's book series "Studies in Brain and Mind."