Valerie G Hardcastle
Researcher - Adj
Professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience | Co-Director and Scholar-in-Residence, Weaver Institute for Law and Psychiatry | Director, Medicine, Health, and Society Program | Executive Director, UC LEAF | Affiliated Faculty - Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies |
Professional Summary
An internationally recognized scholar, Valerie is the author of five books and over 150 essays. She studies the nature and structure of interdisciplinary theories in the cognitive sciences and has focused primarily on developing a philosophical framework for understanding conscious phenomena responsive to neuroscientific, psychiatric, and psychological data. Currently, she is investigating the neuroscience of violence and its implications for both our understanding of human nature and the criminal justice system. She is also trying to figure out whether notions of embodied cognition help or hinder theorizing about consciousness.
Most recently, Valerie has received research fellowships from the Medical Humanities Program at the University of Texas-Medical Branch, the Center for Mind, Brain, and Cognitive Evolution at Ruhr-University Bochum, and the Institute for Philosophy/School of Advanced Study at the University of London. She received a bachelor’s degree with a double major in philosophy and political science from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Houston, and an interdisciplinary PhD in cognitive science and philosophy from the University of California, San Diego.
Research and Practice Interests
Areas of Specialization: neurolaw, consciousness studies, neuro- and cognitive psychology, and the philosophical implications of cognitive science, neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychology
Areas of Research Interest: Bioethics/neuroethics, systems neuroscience, philosophy of mind, gender and diversity studies
Areas of Teaching Competence: metaphysics, science studies, philosophy of science, sexuality studies
Research Support
Grant: #R25OD023763 Investigators:Hardcastle, Valerie; Jacquez, Farrah; Maglo, Koffi; Malat, Jennifer; Maynard, Kathie; Montgomery, La'trice 09-15-2017 -07-31-2022 Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health GROWING COMMUNITY CHANGE RESEARCHERS Role:Collaborator $255,443.00 Awarded Level:Federal