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Education and background
I hold a MPhil in philosophy (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and École Normale Supérieure (ENS)) as well as a MPhil in anthropology (EHESS).
I am currently doing a PhD in cognitive science at Institut Jean Nicod (Department of Cognitive Studies of ENS and Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences of EHESS).
In 2016 and 2017, I was a visiting student researcher at Stanford's Department of Anthropology, where I worked under the supervision of Tanya Luhrmann.
Lines of research
Situated at the intersection of cognitive science and anthropology, my research explores the interplay between cultural and neurobiological processes in hallucinogenic experiences – especially in the context of Amerindian shamanism – , categorization and reasoning among Amazonian indigenous groups, and the cultural and cognitive underpinning of supernatural thinking – with a special interest in animism. I employ both ethnographic participant observation and experimental methods in my research work.
I am mainly working with Shipibo-Konibo and Huni Kuin (Cashinahua) communities of the Peruvian Amazon. I am also interested in exploring the implications of these cross-cultural findings for the field of philosophy of mind. (Click here for more on my research work).
Personal note
I was supposed to defend my PhD dissertation in early April 2019 and start a post-doc at UC Berkeley in mid-April 2019, but health issues decided otherwise. I have been treated for cancer since December 2018.
I am always eager to talk about my research work (and related topics), so if you want to contact me for one reason or another, feel free to do so. Because of my medical situation, I may sometimes be a bit slow to reply, but I will eventually reply, and it’s always a pleasure to have exciting discussions.
Links
My Twitter account.
My research Facebook account.
Institut Jean Nicod (the Institute/lab where I'm doing my PhD).
Ecole Normale Supérieure's Department of Cognitive Studies (where I'm doing my PhD).
ALIUS (an interdisciplinary research group on the scientific study of consciousness that I have co-founded).
Martin Fortier passed away on Saturday April 11, 2020. Martin is no longer with us, but his intellectual life continues. You are invited to contact Raphaël Millière (milliere.raphael@gmail.com) and Denis Bertet (natchanon@hotmail.fr) to enable Martin to carry out his activities through us all.