Christina's World and the Mona Lisa: Two Case Studies in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Art

Bill Seeley is a member of the Philosophy Department at Bates College. He received a B.A. in philosophy from Columbia University in 1988 and a Ph.D in philosophy with a concentration in cognitive science from CUNY-The Graduate Center in 2006. He is currently visiting in the Philosophy Department at The College of Holy Cross, and the College Seminar Program at Yale University where he is teaching a seminar on the foundations of the cognitive neuroscience of art. His research interests are in experimental philosophy and the cognitive neuroscience of art. Current research includes studies of the influence of selective attention, expert knowledge, and motor simulation in picture perception. His interest in art is not solely as a research tool. He also received an M.F.A. (1992) in sculpture from Columbia University. He received the Louis C. Sudler Prize in the Arts from Columbia University in 1988. His welded steel constructions and mobiles have been exhibited in New York City, Tokyo, The Addison Gallery of American Art, and at a number of colleges and universities including a solo exhibition of outdoor works in Ezra Stiles College at Yale University.