Christopher F. Masciari Ph.D., HEC-C

Philosophy of Mind • Cognitive Science • Bioethics

About Me

I am a philosopher and clinical bioethicist whose research examines consciousness, agency, and autonomy through an empirically informed understanding of the mind.

My research is organized around the idea that understanding how we ought to treat persons requires understanding the cognitive capacities through which people perceive the world, form commitments, deliberate, and govern their behavior. I draw on work in cognitive psychology and neuroscience to address questions at the intersection of philosophy of mind and ethics.

One strand of my research concerns consciousness and perception. I defend a reductive representationalist account of perceptual experience and investigate the relationship between phenomenal consciousness, perceptual representation, attention, and cognitive access.

A second strand concerns agency, motivation, and autonomy. My current work examines how empirical research on motivation and self-control should inform philosophical accounts of autonomy and their application to medical decision-making. In particular, I am interested in how we should distinguish changes in a person's values from difficulties acting on values and commitments they continue to endorse.

These projects are united by a broader question: What does a psychologically realistic understanding of human cognition tell us about what it means to govern ourselves and to respect the agency of others?

Current Position

I am a Clinical Bioethicist at Community Health Network in Indianapolis. Previously, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical ethics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

I received my Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Maryland, College Park, where my dissertation, Subjectivity and Cognitive Science: A Defense of the Representational Theory of Consciousness, developed an empirically informed defense of representationalism about conscious perception. I received my M.A. in Philosophy from San Francisco State University and my B.A. in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Teaching

I have taught philosophy at the University of Maryland and San Francisco State University, including courses in bioethics, philosophy of perception, ancient philosophy, logic, critical thinking, and introductory philosophy.

My clinical work has also given me extensive experience teaching ethics to medical students, residents, fellows, physicians, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals. Across these settings, I aim to help students reason carefully, engage opposing arguments charitably, and see philosophical problems as questions they can actively investigate rather than merely positions they need to memorize.

CV | Research Statement | Teaching Statement

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Publications

The Ethics of Bodyoid Use (with Lia Curtis Fine)

Clinical Anatomy (2026)

Published Version

New VSED Advance Directive — Progress, but Problems Persist (with Jordan Potter)

Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2026)

Published Version

Motivational Barriers to Care and the Ethics of Encouragement

American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience (2025)

Published Version

The Bounds of Experience: Representationalism and the Laws of Appearance

Journal of Consciousness Studies (2025)

Published Version

Telehealth as a Window into the Future: Ethical Lessons for AI in Healthcare (with Amitabha Palmer)

Ethics and Medical Technology (2025)

Published Version

The Evolving Landscape of Ethics in Oncology: A Journey Through the Past, Present, and Future (with Nico Nortje, Amitabha Palmer, Gavin Enck, Joyce Neumann, and Colleen Gallagher)

ASCO Educational Book (2024)

Published Version