Don Dcruz | Humanities & Social Sciences

Don Dcruz

Don Dcruz
Assistant Professor
Philosophy
CV Summary: 

Don Dcruz is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Delhi. He teaches and researches in philosophy of science and explores how philosophical analysis can illuminate conceptual and foundational debates that emerge as AI and the mind sciences advance. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, he moved into philosophy with postgraduate and doctoral work at the University of Hyderabad. Prior to academia he worked in applied engineering settings, which informs his interest in the interface between technical systems and normative inquiry.

Contact Information

don at iitd dot ac dot in
01126548750

Research Areas

Philosophy of Science, Conceptual Foundations of AI and Mind Sciences, Nature of Inference, Action & Agency, Naturalized Epistemology of Intelligent Systems

Current research examines questions about the nature of learning, reasoning, knowledge, understanding, and rational agency. This inquiry is guided by the methods and orientations of philosophy of science and naturalized epistemology, which together provide the analytical tools for interrogating the frameworks and assumptions that AI and the mind sciences bring to these questions.

Academic Background

Ph.D in Philosophy, University of Hyderabad (2019)
MA in Philosophy, University of Hyderabad (2013)
B.Tech in Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum (2007)

Employment History

Jul 2022 - present: Assistant Professor (full time), Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Delhi
Jun 2022 - Jul 2022: Assistant Professor (full time), Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Gandhinagar
Dec 2019 - Apr 2022: Assistant Professor (full time), Human Sciences Research Center, IIIT Hyderabad
Jan 2011 - Jul 2011: Assistant Engineer, Transmission Circle, Kerala State Electricity Board
Jul 2007 - Jun 2008: Management Trainee, ABB Ltd.

Publications

"Cognitive Capacities and Machine Intelligence" (2024) in Chakrabarty, Nirmalya (ed) Exploring the Realm of the Mental: Cognition, Emotion and Volition, pages 344-357.

"Are Scientific Models of Life Testable? A Lesson from Simpson’s Paradox" (2021) In Sci (S.I: Molecules to Microbes), 3(1), 2. [joint work with Prasanta Bandyopadhyay, Nolan Grunska and Mark Greenwood, Montana State University]

"Simpson’s Paradox and Causality" (2016). American Philosophical Quarterly, 23(1), 13-25. [joint work with Prasanta Bandyopadhyay, Mark Greenwood, and Venkata Raghavan]

Teaching Areas

Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Mind, Cognitive Science and AI, Introduction to Philosophy Through Dilemmas, Puzzles and Thought Experiments, History of Western Philosophy, Ethics

Courses

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