Dr Mark Cain

BA (Hons), MPhil, PhD

Programme Lead for Philosophy and Religion

School of Education, Humanities and Languages

Role

Mark is a Reader in Philosophy and Programme Lead for Philosophy and Religion. He joined the Philosophy team at Brookes in 2002. Prior to that he held a Leverhulme Special Research Fellowship at the University of Nottingham (2000-2002) and taught at Birkbeck College and King's College London after completing a PhD at The University of St Andrews (1991-1996).

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Modules taught

  • Reason and Argument 
  • Human Nature
  • Foundations of German Idealism
  • Philosophy of Language

Research

Mark's research interests are in the Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Mind and Language. In particular, he is interested in understanding the process by which humans develop from a state of seeming ignorance at birth to one in which they are able to speak a language and grasp a vast array of concepts only a few years later.

Mark is also interested in how school children can benefit from philosophy. He runs a programme that involves training Brookes Philosophy undergraduates to lead philosophy with children sessions and organises placements for them in  local schools. 

  • Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy Cognitive Science

Groups

Publications

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Professional information

Conferences

  • 'The Usage Theory of Language Acquisition'. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Italian Society of Analytic Philosophy, University of L'Aquila, September 2013.
  • 'The Proxytype Theory of Concepts'. Paper presented at a conference on the philosophy of Jesse Prinz, University of the Basque Country, San Sebastian, August 2012.
  • 'Linguistic Conventions'. Paper presented at a conference on the philosophy of David Lewis, University  of Urbino, August 2011.
  • 'Radical Concept Nativism and Human Nature.' Paper presented at the Royal Institute of Philosophy conference on Human Nature, Oxford Brookes University, June 2010.
  • ‘Concept Nativism and LOT2’. Paper presented at Concepts and Consciousness workshop, University of Bristol, June 2009.
  • ‘Millikan on Convention’. Paper presented at the European Society for Philosophy and Psychology conference, Utrecht, Holland, June 2008.
  • ‘Linguistics and Psychology’. Paper presented at the European Society for Philosophy and Psychology conference, Geneva, July 2007.
  • ‘Language Acquisition and the Theory Theory’. Paper presented at the Mental Phenomena conference, Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik, Croatia, September 2006.