IRINA MIKHALEVICH, PH.D. Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program

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1 IRINA MIKHALEVICH, PH.D. Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program Washington University in St. Louis Saint Louis, MO , USA CURRICULUM VITAE Telephone: ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow Lecturer, Full-time EDUCATION Washington University in St. Louis, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program July Present, July 2013 June 2014, Ph.D. (conferred January 2014) Dissertation Title: Experiment and Bias: The Case of Parsimony in Comparative Cognition Advisors: Alisa Bokulich, Colin Allen (Indiana University) Indiana University, Visiting Scholar (Spring 2012) Supervised by Colin Allen, Provost Professor of History and Philosophy of Science and of Cognitive Science University of California at Berkeley, B.A. (2003) Major: Philosophy AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION AND COMPETENCE AOS: Philosophy of Science (especially the nature of experiment & values in science), Philosophy of Cognitive Science (especially animal cognition) AOC: Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Mind, Moral and Political Philosophy, Bioethics PUBLICATIONS Mikhalevich, Irina (forthcoming) Experiment and Animal Minds: Why Statistical Choices Matter Philosophy of Science Mikhalevich, Irina (forthcoming) Simulation, Simplicity, and Cognitive Modeling: Avoiding Old Mistakes in New Experimental Contexts." In The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds, eds. Kristin Andrews and Jacob Beck. (forthcoming) Meketa*, Irina (forthcoming) Honor Among (the Beneficiaries of) Thieves. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. doi: /s x Meketa, Irina (2014) A Critique of the Principle of Cognitive Simplicity in Comparative Cognition. Biology and Philosophy. 29: *published under previous surname Mikhalevich CV Page 1 of 5

2 PRESENTATIONS AND POSTERS Experiment and Animal Minds: Why Statistical Choices Matter Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, November, 2014 A Critique of the Principle of Cognitive Simplicity in Comparative Cognition History and Philosophy of Science Research Group at the University of Cambridge, UK. October, 2014 How Parsimony Biases Experimental Design in Comparative Cognition. Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation Conference 4 (PSX4) hosted by The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, April, 2014 A Critique of the Principle of Cognitive Simplicity in Comparative Cognition. Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology (SSPP). February, 2014 A Critique of the Principle of Cognitive Simplicity in Comparative Cognition. Fourth Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) at the University of Helsinki. August, 2013 (paper was accepted but I was unable to attend the conference) Constructing the Null Hypothesis: Epistemic and Non-Epistemic Values in Statistical Methods. Symposium Session at the APA Pacific Division. San Francisco, CA. March, 2013 A Critique of the Principle of Cognitive Simplicity in Comparative Cognition. 39 th Annual Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology hosted by Brown University. May, 2013 (poster) Coping with Interdisciplinarity in Animal Studies. Summary Remarks at Navigating a Multispecies World: A Graduate Student Conference on the Species Turn at Harvard University. April, 2013 Response to Dan W. Brock s Physician-Assisted Suicide and End-of-Life Issues. Institute for Philosophy and Religion Lecture Series. October, 2013 The False Dichotomy Between Experiment and Observation: The Case of Comparative Cognition. Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation Conference 3 (PSX3) at the University of Colorado. October, 2012 The Importance of Attending to the Null Hypothesis in Comparative Psychology: Replacing Occamism with Empirical Information in Statistical Analysis. Animal Cognition Conference at Ruhr Universität in Bochum, Germany. June, 2012 Sentimentality and Objectivity: Challenging the Ideal of Emotional Detachment in Comparative Cognition. Minding Animals Conference at Utrecht, Netherlands. July, 2012 (poster) Experiment and Observation in Comparative Cognition. Indiana University Center for Integrative Study of Animal Behavior. September, 2012 Response to Ronald Sandler s Climate Change, Ecosystem Management, and Ecological Virtue. Karbank Symposium in Environmental Philosophy. April, 2010 Irreversible Loss of Personhood: Toward a Viable Model of Human Death. Graduate Student Presentation Series,. June, 2008 ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL AWARDS Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award in the (2009) Shimony Prize for paper titled: Value-explicit Demarcation Criteria: Is There a Difference Between Bad Science and Pseudoscience? (2007) Travel grant for Animal Cognition Conference, awarded by the at Ruhr Universität in Bochum, Germany (2012) Travel grant for presentation at the Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation Conference, awarded by the Department of Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder (2012) Mikhalevich CV Page 2 of 5

3 Research Fellowship (Fall 2012) Dissertation Fellowship (2009, 2010, 2011) Teaching Fellowship (2006, 2007, 2008, Fall 2011, Spring 2013) DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Experiment and Bias: The Case of Parsimony in Comparative Cognition Although parsimony is traditionally viewed as a virtue of scientific hypotheses, I argue that it is problematically embedded in the standard statistical method in comparative cognition and results in a bias toward under-attributing allegedly more complex cognitive ontologies to nonhuman animals. In effect, this value of parsimony sets as the default or null hypothesis the non-presence of the more sophisticated cognitive ability or mechanism under investigation. I argue that the role of parsimony in the experimental setting of comparative cognition is deeply problematic, for several reasons. First, the notion of a cognitive hierarchy running from simplest to most complex is difficult to construct both because cognition cannot be easily carved up at the joints and because the notion of parsimony is ambiguous. Second, contrary to some intuitions, the parsimony preference is inconsistent with evolutionary expectations. Third, it increases the risk of wrongly attributing the absence of a potentially morally salient cognitive feature to nonhuman animals. I offer strategies for amending the standard statistical methods in comparative cognition in order to guard against an unwarranted under-attribution bias, and I develop an evidence-based strategy for choosing a null hypothesis that is appropriate given the particular experimental context. Finally, I suggest a role for non-epistemic (e.g. ethical) values in our choice and design of statistical models. Taken as a whole, this work demonstrates that various philosophical investigations of scientific practice from inquiry into the nature of scientific evidence to analysis of the role of values in science would be greatly enriched by increased attention to experimental methodology, including the choice and interpretation of statistical models. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS Philosophy of Science Association American Philosophical Association European Philosophy of Science Association Society for Philosophy and Psychology SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES 2014-present Co-organizer of the PNP/Medical School Colloquium Series at Washington University in St. Louis Founder of weekly Dissertation Writing Group 2011 Moderator of the Center for the Philosophy and History of Science Colloquium, titled Animal Minds President of the Graduate Student Association (intradepartmental) , Summer 2010 Organizer and moderator of the bi-monthly Graduate Student Presentation Series (BU GSPS) , Representative for the Philosophy Department at the Boston University Graduate Student Organization (inter-departmental) Mikhalevich CV Page 3 of 5

4 TEACHING EXPERIENCE AS INDEPENDENT INSTRUCTOR Fall 2014 Spring 2014 Fall 2013 Summer 2010 December 2012 December 2011 Spring 2013 Fall 2011 Spring 2009 Fall 2008 Spring 2008 Fall 2007 Spring 2007 Fall 2006 INTRODUCTION TO COGNITIVE SCIENCE (PNP200) Washington University in St. Louis ETHICS OF HEALTH CARE (PH452/PH652; upper-division undergraduate/graduate) INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (PH150) MEDICAL ETHICS (PH251; two sections of 100 students each, supervised four graduate student teaching fellows) INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS (PH150; supervised one graduate student teaching fellow and one grader) PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE (PH270) AS INVITED SPEAKER Lecture on The Null Hypothesis in Comparative Cognition for Aaron Garrett s first-year graduate student seminar Lecture on Animal Cognition for Russell Powell s Applied Ethics sophomore-level seminar Lecture on Animal Cognition and Welfare for Russell Powell s Medical Ethics course AS TEACHING FELLOW AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY Introduction to Ethics, PH150; Professor Walter Hopp Medical Ethics PH251; Professor Russell Powell Introduction to Ethics, PH150; Professor Aaron Garrett Great Philosophers, PH110; Professor Manfred Kuehn Introduction to Philosophy, PH100; Professor Walter Hopp Reasoning and Argumentation, PH160; Professor Juliet Floyd Introduction to Ethics, PH150; Professor Walter Hopp Introduction to Ethics, PH150; Professor Manfred Kuehn GRADUATE COURSES Fall 2006 Political and Legal Philosophy Philosophy of Science Spring 2007 Continental Rationalism Political Philosophy Values in Science (directed study) Fall 2007 Aristotle Nietzsche Analytic Philosophy Spring 2008 Epistemology Topics in Philosophy of Value: Political Resistance Hume Fall 2008 Reading French Plato Phenomenology Philosophy of Biology (directed study) Spring 2009 Logic Reproductive Ethics, (directed study) Fall 2010 Animal Minds (audited course at Harvard with Peter Godfrey-Smith) Mikhalevich CV Page 4 of 5

5 REFERENCES DR. ALISA BOKULICH Associate Professor of Philosophy Director, Center for Philosophy & History of Science DR. COLIN ALLEN Provost Professor of Cognitive Science and of History & Philosophy of Science Indiana University Bloomington, IN DR. MARC BEKOFF Professor Emeritus, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Colorado, Boulder DR. DAVID ROOCHNIK Chair & Professor of Philosophy DR. WALTER HOPP Associate Professor of Philosophy LANGUAGES Russian (fluent spoken and reading); Italian (good reading, fair speaking); French (fair reading) Mikhalevich CV Page 5 of 5