Marya Schechtman

Marya Schechtman is the LAS Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is also a member of the Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience. Schechtman earned her PhD in Philosophy from Harvard University in 1988. Her research focuses on personal identity, practical reasoning, and bioethics, with a narrative approach to understanding selfhood and life continuity.

Her scholarly contributions include seminal works like The Constitution of Selves (1996) and Staying Alive: Personal Identity, Practical Concerns, and the Unity of a Life (2014). These books argue for narrative and anthropological frameworks to bridge metaphysical and practical questions about identity. Her work has been widely discussed internationally, addressing topics like AI ethics, temporal self-experience, and the role of storytelling in self-understanding.

Schechtman’s interdisciplinary approach engages with neuroscience, literature, and ethics. Her recent articles explore themes such as mental time travel, narrative identity in virtual worlds, and the philosophical implications of deep brain stimulation. She has also critiqued narrative theories and defended the centrality of narrative in ethical and existential discourse.

Her academic leadership includes serving as Department Chair and participating in collaborative research at UIC’s Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience. She maintains an active profile in academic conferences and publications, contributing to both theoretical and applied philosophical debates.