Sarah Sawyer

Prof. Sarah Sawyer is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex, affiliated with the School of Media, Arts and Humanities. She holds roles as Vice-Chair of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and Deputy Director of the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science. Her academic journey includes degrees from the University of St Andrews and King's College London, with prior positions at the University of Kansas and the University of Nebraska. Sawyer specializes in philosophy of mind, language, epistemology, and metaphysics, with a focus on conceptual engineering and semantic externalism.

• Education:
  • PhD in Philosophy, King's College London
  • MPhil in Philosophy, King's College London
  • BA/MA (Hons) in Philosophy, University of St Andrews

Her research explores topics like content externalism, fictional properties, and the role of concepts in fixing language. Sawyer supervises PhD students in interdisciplinary projects, such as consciousness studies and humor philosophy. Her work appears in journals like Inquiry and Erkenntnis, and she is an associate editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy.

Her recent articles emphasize conceptual pluralism, truth in conceptual engineering, and critiques of narrow content theories. Sawyer advocates for conceptual amelioration, linking philosophical kinds to social and scientific practices. She also engages in public philosophy through the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Her advising includes current students like Steven Lau (conceptual analysis) and Anne Goliath (consciousness via art), alongside notable past graduates such as Joseph Gough and Jonathan Lee. She collaborates across disciplines, bridging cognitive science and sociology in her research.