Past
We intend to work towards the opposite of a 'potted' history of representation. Instead, we will ask when, where, and why the term and concept of (mental) representation came into use. Are there analogues in other languages, and are their geneses analogous/contemporaneous?
Mental Representation, or the Invention of the Mind
David Wootton
Kepler's discovery that the eye projects an image onto the retina transformed how we think about knowledge, shifting it from the real world to appearances and ideas in the mind. This paper traces how post-Cartesian philosophy grappled with this revolution, and argues its consequences persist today in concepts like Ryle's ghost in the machine and Rorty's mirror of nature.
Document
History of Representation
Very preliminary remarks on the history of representation
Visualisation
Spider Diagrams
Research
Digital Humanities
Updates under progress
Present
At some point, the use of 'representation' will be employed in such specialist ways that the approach of the intellectual historian should be augmented by experts in different fields, who would articulate the ways in which the term/concept are used now and in recent history. Identifying current areas of confusion surrounding representation will arise from such analyses.
Ongoing Virtual Meetings
Presenter Series
Visiting speakers and ongoing virtual meetings dissecting the current research on representation. Click to view the full list.
Special Issue
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences 2026
PhiMiSci is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, diamond open access journal, indexed in SCOPUS. Our lab's work features in Vol. 7 No. 1 (2026) — articles are published as soon as editorial and production processes are complete, with special issue articles on a coordinated schedule.
Article
When do neural representations give rise to mental representations?
13 February 2024
It is often said that "the mind is what the brain does." But we have a poor handle on the nature of that relationship. One way to bridge the divide is to define the relationship between neural and mental representations — asking not just when neural activity counts as representation, but when it rises to the level of mental representation that guides flexible, centralized cognition.
Link
Representations in Minds, Brains and AI (Colloquium Series)
Link
The Brains Blog - A Symposium on Representation
Since 2005, a leading forum for work in the philosophy and science of mind.
Workshop
Dublin Workshop (May 12 - 14 2022)
Updates under progress
Future
Examining and articulating the historical development of 'representation' into the present allows us to note the contingency of its past, and poises us to take control of our use of the concept in future.
This, then, is the (theory-neutral) prescriptive part of the project. Working from past and present confusions, what categories and subcategories of 'representation' exist? The result should be an interdisciplinary taxonomy to guide discourse, including in future-impacting fields such as AI or computational neuroscience.
Featured Publication
The Transmitter - Inaugural Issue Article by the RPPF Group
Our team calls for a taxonomy of representation in the inaugural issue of The Transmitter.
Media
Introduction to Taxonomy
An introductory video presentation outlining the theoretical framework and interdisciplinary goals for a taxonomy of representation.
Document
Taxonomy
Taxonomy of representation.