Abbreviated Curriculum Vita
Academic Employment
Assistant Professor Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Philosophy 2017- present
Visiting Fellow Northeastern University, Department of Philosophy and Religion 2016 - 2017
Postdoctoral Fellow (Gastdozentin) Humboldt-Universität, Berlin School of Mind and Brain 2016
James S. McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow Washington University in St. Louis, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology 2014 - 2016
Lecturer Boston University, Department of Philosophy 2013 - 2014
Education
Boston University, Ph.D. (2014)
Doctoral Dissertation Title: “Experiment and Bias: The Case of Parsimony in Comparative Cognition”; Advisors: Alisa Bokulich, Colin Allen (Pittsburgh)
Indiana University, Visiting Scholar (2012)
Supervised by Colin Allen, Distinguished Professor, University of Pittsburgh (then at Indiana University)
University of California at Berkeley, B.A. (2003)
Major: Philosophy
Areas of Specialization and Competence
AOS: Bioethics, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Cognitive Science (especially animal cognition)
AOC: Philosophy of Mind, Moral and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Biology
Publications
Mikhalevich, I. (2018) “Animal suicide: An account worth giving?” Animal Sentience 20
Mikhalevich, I. (2017) “Consciousness, evidence, and moral standing: A reply to Woodruff on teleost consciousness" Animal Sentience 13
Mikhalevich, I., R. Powell, and C. Logan. (2017) “Is flexible behavior evidence of cognitive complexity? How evolution can inform comparative cognition” Journal of the Royal Society Interface Focus 7
Powell, R, I. Mikhalevich, C. Logan, and N. Clayton. (2017) “Convergent minds: The evolution of
cognitive complexity in nature,” Journal of the Royal Society Interface Focus 7 (second author)
Mikhalevich, I. (2017) “Simplicity and cognitive modeling: avoiding old mistakes in new experimental
contexts." In The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds, eds. K. Andrews and J. Beck.
Mikhalevich, I. and Powell. R. (2016) “Sex, lies, and gender” 43:14-16 Journal of Medical Ethics
Mikhalevich, I. (2015) “Experiment and animal minds: why the choice of the null hypothesis matters”
Philosophy of Science. 82: 1-11
Mikhalevich, I. (published under ‘Meketa’) (2015) “Honor among (the beneficiaries of) thieves.” Ethical
Theory and Moral Practice 18: 385-402
Mikhalevich, I. (published under ‘Meketa’) (2014) “A critique of the principle of cognitive simplicity in
comparative cognition.” Biology and Philosophy. 29: 731-745
Journal Issues Edited
Special Issue of the Royal Society’s Interface: Focus, titled: “Convergent Minds: The Evolution of Cognitive Complexity in Nature” (co-editors: Nicola S. Clayton FRS, Corina Logan, Russell Powell)
Talks and Presentations
Assistant Professor Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Philosophy 2017- present
Visiting Fellow Northeastern University, Department of Philosophy and Religion 2016 - 2017
Postdoctoral Fellow (Gastdozentin) Humboldt-Universität, Berlin School of Mind and Brain 2016
James S. McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow Washington University in St. Louis, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology 2014 - 2016
Lecturer Boston University, Department of Philosophy 2013 - 2014
Education
Boston University, Ph.D. (2014)
Doctoral Dissertation Title: “Experiment and Bias: The Case of Parsimony in Comparative Cognition”; Advisors: Alisa Bokulich, Colin Allen (Pittsburgh)
Indiana University, Visiting Scholar (2012)
Supervised by Colin Allen, Distinguished Professor, University of Pittsburgh (then at Indiana University)
University of California at Berkeley, B.A. (2003)
Major: Philosophy
Areas of Specialization and Competence
AOS: Bioethics, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Cognitive Science (especially animal cognition)
AOC: Philosophy of Mind, Moral and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Biology
Publications
Mikhalevich, I. (2018) “Animal suicide: An account worth giving?” Animal Sentience 20
Mikhalevich, I. (2017) “Consciousness, evidence, and moral standing: A reply to Woodruff on teleost consciousness" Animal Sentience 13
Mikhalevich, I., R. Powell, and C. Logan. (2017) “Is flexible behavior evidence of cognitive complexity? How evolution can inform comparative cognition” Journal of the Royal Society Interface Focus 7
Powell, R, I. Mikhalevich, C. Logan, and N. Clayton. (2017) “Convergent minds: The evolution of
cognitive complexity in nature,” Journal of the Royal Society Interface Focus 7 (second author)
Mikhalevich, I. (2017) “Simplicity and cognitive modeling: avoiding old mistakes in new experimental
contexts." In The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Animal Minds, eds. K. Andrews and J. Beck.
Mikhalevich, I. and Powell. R. (2016) “Sex, lies, and gender” 43:14-16 Journal of Medical Ethics
Mikhalevich, I. (2015) “Experiment and animal minds: why the choice of the null hypothesis matters”
Philosophy of Science. 82: 1-11
Mikhalevich, I. (published under ‘Meketa’) (2015) “Honor among (the beneficiaries of) thieves.” Ethical
Theory and Moral Practice 18: 385-402
Mikhalevich, I. (published under ‘Meketa’) (2014) “A critique of the principle of cognitive simplicity in
comparative cognition.” Biology and Philosophy. 29: 731-745
Journal Issues Edited
Special Issue of the Royal Society’s Interface: Focus, titled: “Convergent Minds: The Evolution of Cognitive Complexity in Nature” (co-editors: Nicola S. Clayton FRS, Corina Logan, Russell Powell)
Talks and Presentations
- “Robot Crickets and Arthropod Intelligence: How Insect Models Shape Metaphors of Mind.” Salon Series Stan McKenzie Salon Speaker Series titled “Liberal Arts and AI,” Rochester Institute of Technology. December 2018
- “Arthropod Intelligence: What Entomology Can Teach AI” Artificial Intelligence Seminar Series, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY. November 2018
- “Simplicity and Models of Mind” invited speaker at the Cognitive Science Colloquium Series at the Center for Cognitive Science, University at Buffalo. Buffalo, NY. November 2018
- “Cognitive Bias and Moral Deliberation: The Case of Invertebrate Animals.” “Ethics in Entomology: Considerations for Research and Policy” symposium at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America and the Entomological Society of Canada, Vancouver, Ca. November 2018
- “Experimentation and Manipulation,” Philosophy of Science Association, Seattle WA. November 2018.
- “Minds Without Spines” Seminar Series at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Oxford University, Oxford, England. June 2018
- “Minds Without Spines: Toward a More Comprehensive Animal Ethics.” Animal Philosophy Lecture Series. Williams College, MA. April 2018
- “Minds Without Spines: Implications of Invertebrate Cognition for Cognitive Science and Animal Ethics” Cognitive Science Lecture Series. York University. Toronto, CA. February 2018
- “Minds Without Spines: Toward a More Comprehensive Animal Ethics” Hale Ethics Series, Rochester
- Institute of Technology, Rochester NY. October 2017
- “Experimenting and Intervening” Upstate Philosophy of Science Workshop Series, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY. August 2017 “Is Behavioral Flexibility Evidence of Cognitive Complexity?” Faculty Works-in-Progress Series Northeastern University. January 2017
- “Simplicity in Cognitive Modeling” Colloquium Series for the Adaptive Rationality & Adaptive Behavior and Cognition Groups, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Germany. July 2016
- “No Simplicity Simpliciter” Mind-Brain Lecture Series at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University. Berlin, Germany. July 2016
- “Smart Moves: Is Behavioral Flexibility Evidence of Cognitive Complexity?” Convergent Minds: Investigating the Evolution of Cognitive Complexity in Nature at Boston University. October 2015
- Invited Commentary for Marta Halina’s “Inference and Error in Comparative Psychology: The Case of Mindreading” Minds Online Conference. September 2015 “Experimenting and Intervening” Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference at Macquarie University. July 2015
- “Behavioral Flexibility as Evidence of Cognitive Complexity: The Argument Behind the Intuition” Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Colloquium at Washington University-St. Louis. March 2015
- “Behavioral Flexibility as Evidence of Cognitive Complexity: The Argument Behind the Intuition” Saint Louis Area Philosophy of Science Association Conference. St. Louis University, March 2015
- “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.” 39th Annual Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology at Brown University. May 2013 (poster) “Coping with Interdisciplinarity in Animal Studies.” Navigating a Multispecies World: A Graduate Student Conference on the Species Turn. Harvard University. April 2013
- Invited Commentary for Dan W. Brock’s “Physician-Assisted Suicide and End-of-Life Issues.” Boston University Institute for Philosophy and Religion 2013–2014 Lecture Series. October 2013
- “The False Dichotomy Between Experiment and Observation: The Case of Comparative Cognition.” Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation Conference 3 (PSX3). 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. Ruhr Universität. 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
- Invited Commentary for Ronald Sandler’s “Climate Change, Ecosystem Management, and Ecological Virtue.” Boston University Karbank Symposium in Environmental Philosophy. April 2010
- “Irreversible Loss of Personhood: Toward a Viable Model of Human Death.” Graduate Student Presentation Series, Boston University. June 2008
