James William Hoctor

James William (JW) Hoctor is a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the University of Kent where he is a recipient of a Vice-Chancellor Research Scholarship (fully funded).

His research deals with the intersection between philosophy of mind and phenomenology by exploring intersubjectivity in monozygotic (identical) twins. He has presented his research at major international conferences such as the Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Most recently, he has been nominated for the ‘University of Kent Postgraduate Research Award’ and has been given an ‘Above and Beyond Award’ for his contribution to teaching.

His project challenges and contributes to contemporary conceptual debates concerning, selfhood and subjectivity; empathy, mindreading and social cognition; embodied cognition and the extended mind. Consequently, his research will have an impact on many of the assumptions that underpin research carried out in the cognitive sciences on both twins and non-twins.

He received his MA in Philosophy from Durham University in 2015 and a BA in Humanities from Carlow College (Ireland) in 2014.