Keith Allen
Head of Department

Profile

Biography

After studying in Cambridge and University College London, I started at York in 2007. One main focus of my current research is the philosophy of colour. In a Naïve Realist Theory of Colour (Oxford University Press, 2016) I defend a naïve realist (or ‘primitivist’) theory of colour, according to which colours are mind-independent properties of objects that are distinct from those described by science. My work on colour is part of a wider interest in the philosophy of perception. I also work on related questions in the history of philosophy, including theories of ideas in the early modern period and the work of the phenomenologist Merleau-Ponty. I mostly teach philosophy of mind and history of philosophy. In 2024, I became Head of Department.

Departmental roles

• Head of Department
• Equality Champion and Chair of Athena Swan committee

University roles

• Research Champion for Culture and Communication