Laurenz Casser

I am a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of History, Philosophy, and Digital Humanities at the University of Sheffield.

My research lies at the intersection of the history and philosophy of science, the philosophy of medicine, and the philosophy of mind. I am particularly interested in foundational problems in the study of pain and their implications for contemporary pain science and medical practice. My current research focuses on the possibility of pain measurement, competing accounts of pain's cognitive architecture, and various episodes in the history of pain science. 

Before coming to Sheffield, I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. Before that, I received a BPhil in Philosophy and a MSt in Ancient Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Classics from the University of Manchester.
Here is my CV.

Publications

[1] Is Pain Modular? (with Sam Clarke)
2023. Mind & Language 38(3): 828-846.
Synopsis: If pain is inferential, it is most likely modular.

[2] A Hole in the Box and a Pain in the Mouth (with Henry Schiller)
2021. The Philosophical Quarterly 71(4): 685-700.
Synopsis: If there is a pain in your finger, and your finger is in your mouth, then there is a pain in your mouth (duh!)
[3] The Function of Pain
2021. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 99(2): 364-378.
Synopsis: Pain is not primarily an informant about bodily damage.

Work-in-Progress

Pain Measurement

Mental Architecture

Miscellaneous

Email:
L[dot]Casser[at]sheffield[dot]ac[dot]uk

Address:
45 Victoria Street,
Broomhall, Sheffield
S3 7QB
United Kingdom

Office: C31