Bio & CV

"The height a tree reaches is proportional to its roots." - FV.C7

Rafael Augusto Coelho do Nascimento

PhD Candidate/Researcher, Cognitive Science MSc | Writer | Musician

Biography (EN)

[Science and Philosophy] Master in Cognitive Science from the University of Lisbon, PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Rafael Augusto investigates the origin of reflective reasoning and consciousness, having also completed an internship at the Sackler Center for Consciousness Science (University of Sussex), where he worked on Neuroscience using Virtual Reality.

[Literature] In addition to scientific publications, he has published four books: Se a Lua Viesse de Manhã (2010), O Livro da Intranquilidade (2012), Fragmentos de Verdade (2016) and Leonel Coelho, meu avô (2023), the first being a collection of short stories and poems; the second a novel; the third a set of thoughts, excerpts and maxims of psychological and philosophical nature; and the fourth an autobiographical mourning.

[Music] Musically, he has published an album, Meio Cão Meio Deus (2018) and the singles Assim Fala Zaratustra (2019), Entre o Preto e o Branco (2019), O Meu Cão (2020), Por Mim (2021) and Nha Mãe (feat. Aliança Velha, 2022).

Biografia (PT)

[Ciência e Filosofia] Mestre em Ciência Cognitiva pela Universidade de Lisboa, investigador em doutoramento na Universidade de Edimburgo, financiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), investiga a origem do raciocínio reflexivo e da consciência, tendo também feito um estágio no Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science (Universidade de Sussex), onde trabalhou em Neurociência usando Realidade Virtual.

[Literatura] Para além das publicações científicas, tem quatro livros publicados: Se a Lua Viesse de Manhã (2010), O Livro da Intranquilidade (2012), Fragmentos de Verdade (2016) e Leonel Coelho, meu avô (2023), sendo o primeiro uma coletânea de contos e poemas, o segundo um romance, o terceiro um conjunto de pensamentos, trechos e máximas de teor sobretudo psicológico, e o quarto um luto autobiográfico.

[Música] Musicalmente, tem publicado um álbum, Meio Cão Meio Deus (2018) e os singles Assim Fala Zaratustra (2019), Entre o Preto e o Branco (2019), O Meu Cão (2020), Por Mim (2021) e Nha Mãe (feat. Aliança Velha, 2022).

Academic Positions

University Of Edinburgh
- 2024 | Tutor (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences)
- Course: Introduction to Cognitive Science
University Of Edinburgh
- 2020 to 2024 | PhD Candidate/Researcher (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences)
- Supervisors: Alistair Isaac and Tillmann Vierkant.
- Project: How did the abilities associated with S2 emerge from S1’s pre-existing components? A Functional Mechanism for Reflexive Thinking.
- Personal page
University of Sussex
- 2017 | Intern (Sackler Centre For Consciousness Science)
- Supervisors: Keisuke Suzuki and Anil Seth.

Education

Philosophy PhD
- 2020 to 2024 | University of Edinburgh (School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences)
- Supervisor: Alistair Isaac and Tillmann Vierkant
Cognitive Science MSc
- 2012 to 2016 | University of Lisbon (Faculties of Medicine, Science, Letters and Psychology)
- Supervisors: João Branquinho and Hélder Coelho
- Project: The unconscious-conscious relationship in the production of conscious thought
Portuguese and Lusophone Studies BA
- 2009 to 2012 | University of Lisbon (Faculty of Letters)

Selected Publications

Two Kinds of Process or Two Kinds of Processing? Disambiguating Dual-Process Theories

- Review of Philosophy and Psychology | 2023| journal-article
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-023-00673-1

Sensorimotor contingency modulates breakthrough of virtual 3D objects during a breaking continuous flash suppression paradigm

- Cognition | 2019 | journal-article
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2019.03.003

The Hard Problem of Cognition: Filling the Gap Between Automaticity and Control

- 2024 (under review)| journal-article

A relação inconsciente-consciente na produção do pensamento consciente

- University Of Lisbon | 2016 | dissertation-thesis
- HANDLE: http://hdl.handle.net/10451/24294

Fragmentos de Verdade

- Alêtheia | 2016 | book
- ISBN: 978-989-622-820-0

Selected Talks and Events

9th National Meeting in Analytic Philosophy – ENFA 9 (Lisbon, 2024)

Speaker | see conference page.

1st Leonel Coelho Literary Contest | 50th Alhos Vedros Book Fair (Alhos Vedros, 2023)

- Juri (contest), organizer (fair) | see event page.

4th International Conference on Philosophy of Mind: 4E's Approaches to the Mind/Brain (Braga, 2023)

- Speaker | see conference page.

Dynamics of Agency: Automaticity, Intentionality, and Change (Helsinki, 2023)

- Speaker | see workshop page.

18th Annual Conference of the Italian Association of Cognitive Sciences (Rovereto, Trento, 2022)

- Speaker | see conference page.

National Meeting in Analytic Philosophy – ENFA 8 (Porto, 2022)

- Speaker | see conference page.

European Researchers' Night - NEI '22 (Lisbon, 2022)

- Speaker | see event page.

10th Edinburgh Graduate Conference (Edinburgh, 2021)

- Organizer | see event page.

Óbidos International Literary Festival - FOLIO'18 (Óbidos, 2018)

- Book presentation | see event page.

Grants

PhD Scholarship - Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)

Project: How did the abilities associated with S2 emerge from S1’s pre-existing components? A Functional Mechanism for Reflexive Thinking.
Funding Agency: Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)
Host Institution: University of Edinburgh - School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
2020 to 2024 | Research Grant