Dr. Roy Porat

Personal information

Since 2024, Roy Porat has been a member of the CVBE (Cognition, Values, Behavior) research group at LMU Munich. Before that, he worked in the USA for several years, first as a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard University and then as a visiting researcher and professor at Brown University and Wesleyan University.

Research interests

His research focuses on the intersection of language, thought, and perception. He investigates these topics from two perspectives: comparative / Asian philosophy and empirically informed / experimental philosophy, primarily in the areas of embodied cognition and the study of metaphor.

Current projects

• Synaesthesia as a form of embodied cognition:
  It will be argued in this project that synaesthesia is mainly a conceptual, rather than a perceptual, phenomenon, in that synaesthesia will be newly defined as an idiosyncratic form of conceptual priming. The project is based on a theoretical analysis as well as on a study of reaction times (RT) and a semantic analysis of hitherto overlooked forms of lexical synaesthesia.
• Darkness in religion and philosophy:
  While light and clear vision are traditionally symbols for knowledge and true understanding, certain traditions - a noteworthy example being the philosophy of Daoism - have worshipped its opposite: darkness and unclarity. This project examines this counter-intuitive picture in various traditions across the world and investigates, how it is reflected in the philosophical principles of their contemplative / mystical thought.
• The reconstruction of Proto-Zhuangzi:
  Philological and thematic analysis towards a reconstruction of the early layer of the Zhuangzi, based on the Qiwulun and its relationship to the School of Names. This project concentrates on the Zhuangzian concept of oneness and the generative power of language and calls into question some of the prevalent views about the dominance of metaphysical realism in pre-Buddhist China.
• Rethinking the cognitive function of language:
  The project addresses the debate about the verbal medium of thought - in particular, what kinds of thoughts can and cannot be thought in the absence of natural language - and explores recent findings in cognitive science and their implications for philosophical discussion on this topic.