Gavin Foster

Graduate Student // Philosophy

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Gavin Robert Foster is currently a first year PhD student and Dean's Graduate Fellow in the department of philosophy. His primary area of research is cognitive science, with a focus on theory of mind and animal cognition. He is currently working on multiple papers that build upon his recently completed MA thesis entitled "Mindreading in Great Apes: Dissolving the Logical Problem and a New Multiple Soft-Indicators Model." He is also interested in parallel issues in the developmental psychology literature surrounding theory of mind. Gavin has helped design and implement (non-invasive) behavioural experiments on non-human animals. In particular, he was involved in the launch of Canine Minds Collaborative at Johns Hopkins University, where he was a visiting graduate scholar in Chris Krupenye's Social and Cognitive Origins Group (of which he remains actively involved).

Gavin is also firmly committed to research in the history of philosophy and science, with a particular focus on Kant and the history of psychology and biology. He is interested in exploring how Kant's writings on evolutionary theory can illuminate his stance on the representational capacities of non-human animals. Further, he hopes to participate in dispelling many misconceptions surrounding early pioneers of comparative psychology and genetics, such as Max Müller, Conwy Lloyd Morgan, and Raphael Weldon.

Previous affiliations:

2017-2022, University of Toronto (BA; Major in Philosophy; Minor in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the IHPST; Minor in Indigenous Studies)

2022-2024, Carleton University, Ottawa (MA; Philosophy)

2023-2024, Johns Hopkins University (Visiting Graduate Scholar; Psychology and Brain Sciences)