Andrew Peterson

Andrew Peterson, Ph.D., serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at George Mason University and maintains an affiliate research position at the University of Pennsylvania Memory Center. His interdisciplinary work bridges philosophical inquiry with clinical neuroscience, focusing on consciousness-related phenomena in brain injury and dementia contexts.

Dr. Peterson earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario. His academic trajectory emphasizes engagement beyond traditional philosophy circles, deliberately collaborating with neuroscientists and clinicians to address conceptual challenges in consciousness studies.

His research program centers on three interconnected domains:

• Philosophical analysis of consciousness definitions and measurement in clinical neuroscience
• Investigation of paradoxical lucidity in severe dementia and its implications for consciousness models
• Development of ethical frameworks for psychedelics research that integrate Indigenous perspectives

Dr. Peterson actively participates in high-impact interdisciplinary forums like the Banbury Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he contributes philosophical rigor to discussions on emerging neuroscience topics. His National Institute on Aging-funded work on paradoxical lucidity demonstrates how conceptual clarity can drive empirical research forward, challenging assumptions about irreversible cognitive decline in dementia. He emphasizes that meaningful scientific progress requires confronting definitional ambiguities head-on rather than avoiding 'troublesome' philosophical questions.