Liz Stillwaggon Swan, Ph.D.
I work in cognitive science and philosophy of science. I have a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Philosophy, and a B.A. in Psychology. I am currently compiling Origins of Mind, a new anthology in the Springer book series in Biosemiotics that addresses the ontological and ethical implications of our human mind's being a product of biological evolution. The volume will focus on a question fundamental to both science and philosophy: How and why did mindedness emerge in the natural world?


Sample Publications

 - Articles -

Synthesizing Insight: Artificial Life as Thought Experimentation in Biology. Biology and Philosophy, 24(5) 687-701.

How is Meaning Grounded in the Organism? Co-authored with Louis J. Goldberg. Biosemiotics, 3(2) 131-146.

Biosymbols: Symbols in Life and Mind. Co-authored with Louis J. Goldberg. Biosemiotics, 3(1), 17-31.

 - Reviews -

Review of Paul Thagard's The Brain and the Meaning of Life. Published in International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 25(3) 297-299.

Signs Pointing in a New Direction: A Biosemiotic Framework for Biolinguistics, (2010), a review of Donald Favareau's Essential Readings in Biosemiotics: Anthology and Commentary. Published in Biolinguistics, 5(4), 366-369.

Review of McGrew, T., Alspector-Kelly, M., and Allhoff, F. (Eds.). Philosophy of Science: A Historical Anthology. Philosophy of Science, 77 (1): 141–143.

 - Edited Volumes -

Origin(s) of Design in Nature: A Fresh, Interdisciplinary Look at How Design Emerges in Complex Systems, Especially Life. Swan, L.S., Gordon, R., and Seckbach, J. (Eds.) (forthcoming 2012). Dordrecht: Springer.

Yoga-Philosophy for Everyone: Bending Mind and Body. (2011). Boston: Wiley-Blackwell.

  - Short Essays -

Scholarship. (2012). In Favareau, D., Cobley, P., and Kull, K. (Eds.), A More Developed Sign: Interpreting the Work of Jesper Hoffmeyer (p.231-233). Tartu: Tartu University Press.

Animal Lab. Philosophy Now, 76 (Nov/Dec 2009), 52-54.

Message in a Bottle: Sending Out an (Academic) S.O.S., The Chronicle of Higher Education, Aug. 23, 2010.

A Heart and Mind United. In Bowman, D., and Berti, J. (Eds.) (2011) Rush and Philosophy: Heart and Mind United. Illinois: Carus Publishing.