Affiliation
Director, Institut Jean Nicod, Paris
Directeur de recherche de Classe Exceptionnelle (Tenured senior researcher) with the French CNRS
Directeur d'études (Professor), EHESS
Member elected, Academia Europaea.
Institut Jean Nicod
Department of Cognitive Studies
CNRS-EHESS-ENS
personal page: www.shadowes.org

I am a tenured senior researcher (Directeur de Recherche) with the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Director of Studies (Directeur d'Etudes) at EHESS where I hold the chair Philosophies of the Ocean. I am based in Paris, France. I studied with Andrea Bonomi and Giovanni Piana in Milan, Italy, where I obtained my PhD (on Events) in 1992, and under the direction of Kevin Mulligan at the University of Geneva, Switzerland (PhD on Secondary Qualities, 1991). I have worked on various research projects on metaphysics and the philosophy of perception, in particular under the direction of Barry Smith. I have taught at several universities, among which the State University of New York at Buffalo; I have been visiting professor or visiting scholar at the Università IUAV, Venice, at the University of Turin, at Columbia University, and at Dartmouth College. I am the recipient of various prizes and of grants from several institutions, including CNRS, MENRT, and the European Commission. 
 

I have published on journals such as Analysis, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Studia Leibnitiana, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Perception, Trends in Cognitive Science, Journal of Visual Language and Computing, Dialectica, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Studies, Philosophical Psychology, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ecological Psychology, Journal of Vision, PLos One, Scientifc Reports. This somewhat nonstandard spread reflects my interdisciplinary interest, focused on the status of commonsense notions of entities in space (such as that of object, event, colors, sounds, holes and shadows, and marine spaces) and the proper methodology for studying these notions. Having received a parallel education as a graphic designer, I have investigated issues in the cognitive study of art and of cognitive artifacts. The current strand of my research is related to environmental issues, in particular representations of the ocean, navigation, and observation practices. I worked mostly in analytical metaphysics at the interface with the cognitive sciences (non-standard cognitive objects, events, sounds, spaces), the study of shadow related perceptual phenomena, and the study of cognitive artifacts.
Present positions: 
(from 2018) Director, Institut Jean Nicod, Paris. 
(from 2002): Senior Researcher (Directeur de Recherches, Tenured Position), Centre National de la 
Recherche Scientifique, France. (Previously: Tenured Research Fellow, CNRS, as from 1993.)
(from 2016) Professor (Directeur d'Etudes cumulant), Ecole des hautes études en sciences socialesî, Paris, 
France, Chair Philosophies de l'Océan (Philosophies of the Ocean)

Education
1980. Liceo Scientifico Alessi, Perugia. Diploma di maturità, Grade 60/60 cum laude.
1980/85 Student at the State University of Milan, Italy.
1985, B.A. in Philosophy. B.A. Thesis on Logical Spaces. Grade: 110/110 cum laude.
1980/82 Polytechnic School of Design, Milan, Italy.
1982, B.A. in Visual Design.
1987-1991 Doctoral student, University of Geneva.
1988 Thesis: Three Studies in the Theory of Perception: Stumpf, Hofmann, Schapp.
1991 M.A.Thesis: Secondary Qualities: Metaphysical and Phenomenological Distinctions.
1991, Ph.D. Thesis on: Secondary Qualities. Thesis supervisor: Kevin Mulligan. (Qualità secondarie) defended on Dec. 21, 1991, Université de Génève. Grade: Très honorable (highest grade in Switzerland).
Viva's committee: Prof. J. Bouveresse (Paris), Prof. K. Mulligan (Génève), Prof. D. Marconi (Turin), Prof. R. de Monticelli (Génève).
1989-1992 Doctoral student, State University of Milan, Italy.
Ph.D. Thesis on Events defended on 16 September 1992. Thesis supervisor: Andrea Bonomi (Milan). (Grade: pass; Only pass/fail grade)

Languages
Fluent in English, French and Italian (mother tongue). Proficient in spoken and written German. Passive knowledge of Spanish.