Aliyar Ozercan
About Me
I recently completed my PhD in Philosophy at the University of Connecticut under the supervision of William (Bill) Lycan. I work at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, studying how minds communicate, understand each other, and make progress in inquiry. My research develops a modular framework for social cognition called Sub-Theories of Mind and builds it with evidence from developmental psychology and neuroscience. I use conceptual analysis alongside behavioral methods and neuroimaging, especially fMRI, so I can both shape the theory and help design studies that test it. I also work in semantics and speech-act theory, including evidence marking and weak assertion in Turkish. My strength is moving across disciplinary boundaries: I bring the neuroscientist’s data, the psychologist’s methods, and the philosopher’s distinctions into a single workflow. That means working on both sides, methods and data, argument and theory, so that questions are framed in testable terms and results are interpreted in ways that push the theory forward.
In pursuit of a comprehensive theory, I trained across philosophy of mind and language, developmental psychology, and neuroimaging, with hands-on experience in fMRI analysis. I served as an IBACS and BIRC Research Assistant in Neuroimaging and completed graduate certificates in Neurobiology of Language, Cognitive Science, and Logic. This background lets me connect conceptual questions to experimental design and data interpretation in studies of communication, intention reading, and language.
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At UConn, I led the Expression, Communication, and Origins of Meaning (ECOM) research group and, with Dorit Bar-On, organized 11 influential conferences on consciousness, social cognition, and language. I received the Provost’s Teaching Excellence Award during my doctoral work. Prior to UConn I began doctoral study at BoÄŸaziçi University and completed my MA and BA at METU with Teo Grunberg as my master’s advisor. Publications from that period include Symbolic Logic Manual (2014) and, later, the co-edited volume Language, Logic, and Empirical Knowledge: Collected Papers (1965–2005) of Teo Grünberg (2017).
Current Research
Emotion-First Mindreading in Infancy: A Theory of Emotion
(Under Review)
Developmental Psychology, Philosophy of Mind, Cognitive Science
This paper argues that the earliest domain-specific capacity for mindreading in humans is a Theory of Emotion. In the third quarter of the first year, infants begin to represent others’ affective states as structured appraisals of the world rather than as mere signals. On this view, emotion provides the first stable handle on other minds and supplies actionable predictions for attention, learning, and social coordination.
I assemble a developmental ladder grounded in current findings: early resonance and matching, emerging category-level sensitivity to affect, and then direct representation that supports practical metarepresentation in everyday contexts. The discussion integrates evidence on emotion categorization, comforting and prosocial responses, context-sensitive humor, and expectancy-violation patterns. I contrast this trajectory with belief-first and desire-first accounts, derive behavioral and neural signatures that should be observable in the first year, and specify tasks that can adjudicate among these views in longitudinal and cross-cultural studies.
Proto-Social Cognition: A Relational Framework for Infant Sociality
(Under Review)
Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Mind
This paper proposes that infants’ first social system is built for managing live interaction, not for inferring hidden mental states. I model early social skill as a compact relational code that tracks who does what to what, coupled with a simple controller that maintains, repairs, or withdraws from engagement. On this view, early social understanding is organized around roles, actions, and contingencies in the here and now, providing a fast, robust basis for coordination long before belief attribution is available.
I draw together first-year findings on contingency detection, the integration of gaze, voice, and gesture, and rapid transfer of routines to new partners. The framework predicts faster anticipation for communicative pointing than for a self-directed reach, graded bids to re-engage that scale with the partner’s perceptual access, and early preferences for partners who stabilize interaction after mild disruptions. I outline behavioral and eye-tracking tasks that can test these contrasts across contexts and partners, with follow-up measures for durability and generalization.
Representation of the Unknown: A Theory of Indefinite Targeting
(Under review)
Epistemology, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science
This paper introduces Indefinite Targeting as a base format for inquiry: an open template of the form “an F that meets condition C.” The template represents a target without building in existence or uniqueness, so search can begin, update in response to evidence, and still count as the same inquiry. The view explains how we can start from serious misdescription and nevertheless converge on a stable result, or reach a principled negative conclusion, or arrive at several correct answers when the world supports plurality.
I articulate working norms that keep inquiry non-trivial: continuity constraints for when revisions preserve topic, and stopping rules that mark completion under adequate tests even when the extension is empty or multiple. The account is developed through classic cases like Neptune, Vulcan, and the two-thieves scenario, and yields operational predictions for scientific and everyday investigation: what should change when data conflict with the current F, how to register constraints in measurement, and how to score outcomes as success, failure, or principled suspension. The framework sets up clear contrasts with definite-description baselines and provides tasks for adjudication in historical reconstruction, formal modeling, and experimental studies of search and concept revision.
Scaling the Force of Assertion: Turkish -mIÈ™
(Under review)
Philosophy of Language, Semantics, Pragmatics
I develop a speech-act account on which Turkish -mIÅŸ grammatically weakens assertoric force while leaving truth-conditional content unchanged. The suffix marks a reduced commitment to add the proposition to the common ground, which distinguishes it from modal-in-content and presentative analyses. On this view, -mIÅŸ modulates the speaker’s public commitment rather than adding evidential or mirative content to the proposition itself.
The paper lays out diagnostics for this force-based treatment: challenge profile, retraction style, and uptake in the common ground; behavior with response particles; embedding under attitudes, conditionals, and questions; and the distribution of double -mIÅŸ. I sketch corpus expectations and experimental tests, including acceptability and challenge-elicitation tasks, and predict specific contrasts with bare past and with overt evidentials. The account yields clear cross-linguistic connections to other reportative systems while explaining Turkish-specific patterns without moving the modal content into truth conditions.
Neural and Behavioral Signatures of Sub-Theories of Mind
(In Preparation)
Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, Philosophy of Mind
This paper operationalizes Sub-ToM for empirical testing by specifying domain-specific prediction sets and their measurable correlates. For emotion, intention/desire, and knowledge access, I provide task designs that separate representational commitments from performance confounds and outline expected patterns in eye-tracking, pupilometry, and infant-friendly neural measures (EEG/fNIRS), with fMRI variants for older participants. The aim is a test suite that can confirm dissociations across domains while charting developmental coupling over time.
I also offer analysis guidelines for distinguishing domain activation from general difficulty, and preregisterable contrasts that adjudicate between modular Sub-ToM and single-system alternatives. The result is a practical map from theory to methods and data: clear predictions for when each domain should drive expectation, how disruptions propagate across domains, and what counts as evidence of genuine domain-specific representation rather than strategy or task learning.
Prepositional Attitudes
(In Preparation)
Philosophy of Mind, Animal Cognition, Cognitive Science
I develop a category of contentful states that represent the world in a relational format without metarepresentation. A prepositional attitude encodes a structured relation like under(squirrel, table) or behind(x, y), which is sufficient to guide action and learning even when the subject cannot frame a that-clause such as “I know that the squirrel is under the table.” This format fits nonlinguistic agents and prelinguistic infants who act on rich spatial and causal layouts without representing their own or others’ attitudes.
The project distinguishes prepositional from propositional attitudes and sketches a developmental path from one to the other. It predicts specific behavioral markers: flexible use of relational information across modalities, robust action guidance with limited opacity effects, and characteristic error profiles when re-identification fails. I outline test paradigms for animals and infants that target relational updating and role reversal, including detour problems, occlusion and transposition tasks, and violation-of-expectation designs. The account interfaces with Sub-Theories of Mind by explaining how early relational representation supports later domains like emotion and intention while remaining independent of belief attribution.
Effects of Reward in Alzheimer's
(2nd batch of participant data is analyzed, waiting for funding for the final batch - Collaborative)
Cognitive Neuropsychology, Neuroimaging
This fMRI study investigates how reward mechanisms affect brain activity in Alzheimer's patients. By examining neural responses to reward stimuli, the research aims to understand alterations in the reward system due to Alzheimer's and potentially uncover new therapeutic approaches.
Animal Sub-Theories of Mind
(In Preparation)
Philosophy of Mind, Animal Cognition, Philosophy of Language
This theory's applicability extends to animal cognition, especially in species that demonstrate an understanding of various aspects of others' mental states. For example, consider the case of certain primates like chimpanzees. Despite their inability to navigate complex false-belief tasks, these primates exhibit the capacity to understand basic elements of knowledge and intention in others. This observation underscores a critical aspect of Sub-Theories of Mind (Sub-ToM): its ability to explain cognitive phenomena across a spectrum of sophistication, something that traditional Theory of Mind (ToM) models struggle to address comprehensively.
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In the latter part of the paper, I contend that the hierarchy within Sub-ToM could be interpreted as a transition from prepositional attitudes to propositional attitudes. For instance, the recognition that 'mom is angry at dad' exemplifies a prepositional attitude. In contrast, a more advanced cognitive representation, such as 'dad knows that mom is angry at him,' constitutes a propositional attitude.
From the last conference I organized, Millikanfest
(left to right) Dennett, Bill (my advisor) and me
Teaching
I received UConn’s Provost’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2019. Over 11 years I’ve taught at three universities across seven campuses and at Phillips Academy Andover in multiple summer sessions. My courses include Problems of Philosophy, Philosophy and Social Ethics, Logic, Neuropsychology, and Social Psychology. My evaluations consistently exceed department averages by about 0.5 points (overall 4.53/5), and at Andover my average is 4.82/5. I work with a competency-based approach, emphasize clear learning goals and feedback, and keep refining my practice through observation, iteration, and evidence from student learning.
Neuropsychology
Taught 3 sections at Phillips Academy Andover (Summer School)
This enthralling course delves into the complexities of the human brain and its connection to behavior and cognitive functions. Students embark on an intellectual journey exploring the neural mechanisms underlying emotions, memory, language, and perception. The curriculum integrates theoretical knowledge with practical insights, offering a comprehensive understanding of brain-behavior relationships. This course is a gateway to understanding the marvels of the human mind and its intricate workings.
Social Psychology
Taught 2 session at Phillips Academy Andover (Summer School)
A captivating exploration of how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others. This course offers a deep dive into concepts like social perception, group dynamics, conformity, persuasion, and interpersonal relationships. Students will engage with real-world examples, understanding how social psychology applies to everyday life and societal issues. It's a thrilling opportunity to uncover the mysteries of human social interactions and their impact on the broader social fabric.
Philosophy and Logic
Taught 2 session at University of Connecticut (Stamford)
Also TAed 2 sessions
This course is an intellectually stimulating exploration of the principles of logical reasoning within the context of philosophical thought. It trains students to construct and analyze arguments, fostering critical thinking and rational debate. The journey through various logical frameworks and philosophical perspectives enhances students’ ability to reason abstractly and argue effectively. This course is not just an academic endeavor but a tool for honing the mind to navigate complex ideas and theories.
Philosophy and Social Ethics
Taught 6 sessions at University of Connecticut (Waterbury, Hartford, Storrs)
A dynamic course that examines the ethical dimensions of social issues through the lens of philosophical thought. Students engage with moral theories and apply them to contemporary social challenges, such as justice, AI related issues human rights, environmental ethics, and global inequality. This course encourages deep reflection on personal values and societal norms, empowering students to become ethically aware and socially responsible individuals. It's a profound exploration of the intersection between philosophy and the moral fabric of society.
Problems of Philosophy
Taught 5 sessions at University of Connecticut (Waterbury, Hartford, Storrs)
This stimulating course takes students through a journey of philosophical inquiry, exploring pivotal problems that have intrigued thinkers like Berkeley, Kant, Marx, Socrates, and Plato. It delves into the nature of reality and perception, challenges the boundaries of human knowledge, and examines the foundations of ethical reasoning and social justice. Students will engage with the quest for truth and the complexities of moral and aesthetic judgments. This course is an intellectual adventure, prompting deep reflection on existence, knowledge, and the human condition.
History of Science
Taught 1 session at Bartin University
History of Science covers key scientific revolutions, the evolution of scientific theories, and the interplay between science and society. Students will explore the lives and works of groundbreaking scientists and how their discoveries reshaped our understanding of the world. The course also critically examines the cultural, philosophical, and political contexts that influenced scientific progress. It's a captivating exploration of how science has shaped, and been shaped by, the world around it.
Modern Logic I and II
TAed 2 sessions at Middle East Technical University
This course presents an in-depth and highly technical examination of advanced logic. While it begins with foundational aspects of propositional and predicate logic, the focus quickly shifts to more complex versions of these topics. Students will explore intricate structures and theorems within these logical systems, delving into advanced concepts like quantifiers, logical connectives, and modal operators. The course also covers formal proof techniques, set theory, and the study of consistency and completeness in logical systems. By mastering these advanced elements of modern logic, students gain a deep and nuanced understanding of formal reasoning, enhancing their capability to engage with complex logical problems.