William P. Seeley

William P. Seeley holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from CUNY-The Graduate Center, an M.F.A. in sculpture from Columbia University, and a B.A. in philosophy from Columbia University.

His research interests lie at the intersection of cognitive science and philosophy of art. His research has been published in conference proceedings, book chapters, and a number of journals including Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, British Journal of Aesthetics, Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind, Philosophical Psychology, Review of Philosophy and Psychology, Frontiers in Consciousness Research, and Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.

He received an NEH Digital Humanities Startup Grant in 2016 to explore how computer science might aid our understanding of art. His recent book, Attentional Engines: A Perceptual Theory of the Arts (Oxford University Press), explores what philosophers of art can learn from the growing research field of neuroaesthetics.

Professor Seeley is also a practicing artist. His welded steel constructions and large scale collaborative drawings have been exhibited in New York City and at a number of college and university galleries.