Niccolo
Negro

Dr. Niccolò Negro is an Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Psychological Sciences at Tel Aviv University under the supervision of Prof. Liad Mudrik.

Niccolo’s research focuses on extrapolative inferences in consciousness science.

He explores what current theories of human consciousness tell us about consciousness in systems considerably different from humans and evaluates the extent to which these theories can attribute consciousness to non-standard entities like animals, embryos, and artificial systems. Niccolò combines philosophical analysis with knowledge of the neuroscience of consciousness to question the applicability of theories of consciousness to non-standard cases. His research contributes to the question of what inferential practices should be adopted when ascertaining whether a system is conscious or not – a discussion which has significant ethical, legal, and clinical implications.

Niccolò was born in Treviso, Italy. He obtained his BA in philosophy at the University of Siena and his MA in philosophy of science at the University of Milan, where he researched the quality and quantity of consciousness under the supervision of Prof. Corrado Sinigaglia and Prof. Marcello Massimini. He then moved to Australia, where he completed his PhD in philosophy at Monash University working with Prof. Jakob Hohwy and Prof. Tim Bayne. His PhD thesis, which won the 2022 Vice Chancellor’s Commendation Award for Thesis Excellence, provides a comprehensive philosophical evaluation of the integrated information theory – one of the most influential theories of consciousness in the contemporary neuroscientific landscape. When not engaged in research, Niccolò loves to travel, play and watch football, cycle, and play pool.