Welcome to my website. I am a philosopher and historian of the cognitive sciences and a historian of philosophy. Currently, I am a McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow in the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology program at Washington University in St. Louis. I received my PhD in philosophy from the University of California, Irvine in 2024.

My work focuses on perceptual representation and its role in cognition.

The two historical figures I have been most interested in for the last several years are George Berkeley (the focus of my dissertation) and the medieval natural philosopher Ibn al-Haytham. I am also a big fan of Locke, Reid, Kant, and Helmholtz, among others.

In present-day philosophy of cognitive science, my work connects philosophical discussion of perceptual representation (especially, the formats and vehicles of perceptual representation) with visual neuroscience and the neuroscience of attention. For more, check out my research page or email me.

You can download my CV here.

You can contact me at: sommerse [at] wustl [dot] edu