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Gaurav Kudtarkar

Gaurav Kudtarkar

Assistant Professor

About

I am a philosopher of mind and metaphysics. In the philosophy of mind, I am particularly interested in foundational metaphysical questions such as what constitutes mentality. Hence, my interest in the two fundamental mental properties of intentionality (i.e., the external directedness of mental states) and consciousness. As regards the relation between the two, I am inclined towards intentionalism, which is the thesis that phenomenal consciousness is determined by intentionality.

In metaphysics, I am interested in ontological questions concerning what the fundamental entities in the universe are, and how those entities construct the rest of reality. I am particularly interested in fundamental properties, which I believe are powerful universals. I am also interested in the metaphysics of value, particularly value realism which holds that value (for e.g., goodness, beauty) is objective.

"All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare." - Baruch Spinoza

In my PhD thesis, I developed a novel theory of perceptual intentionality or directedness.

Drawing on Aristotle’s theory of perception and the classical Nyāya theory of universals, I argued that perceptual content (and intentionality) is constituted by the instantiation of the same universal properties in the perceived object and the subject, but in different manners.

Further, I argued that perceptual content is a strongly emergent property with novel action-related causal powers.

Research Interests

Metaphysics; Philosophy of Mind; Axiology (philosophy of value); Sāṁkhya philosophy.

The Northern Bridge Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) award in 2021. This was a fully-funded scholarship awarded by the UKRI-AHRC to pursue my PhD at Durham University, UK, from October 2021 to March 2025.

UGC NET-JRF awarded in 2018.

APJ Abdul Kalam Gold Medal for excellence in the Master of Business Administration (Finance) programme (2009-11) at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, AP.

J. Easwari Bai Gold Medal for excellence in the Bachelor of Commerce (Hons.) programme (2006-09) at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, AP.

Assistant Professor

School of Liberal Arts and Sciences

  • Location Bengaluru
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