Professor Craig DeLancey
Craig DeLancey, Ph.D. is a writer and philosopher. He is a science fiction author and has published dozens of short stories in magazines such as Analog, Lightspeed, Cosmos, Shimmer, and Nature Physics. His stories have also appeared in translation in Russia and China. He is known for his novels Gods of Earth and his latest Predator Space Chronicles. He also writes plays, many of which have received staged readings and performances in New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and elsewhere.
In 2001, Craig authored Passionate Engines: What Emotions Reveal about the Mind and Artificial Intelligence, an essential insight on key issues in the philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence.
His philosophical research is mostly in the philosophy of mind, and is recently concerned with applications of descriptive complexity theory to problems in metaphysics.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he now makes his home in upstate New York and, in addition to writing, teaches philosophy at Oswego State, part of the State University of New York (SUNY). Previously, he worked as Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company.
Craig earned his double Bachelor’s of Arts in Anthropology and English at University of Rochester in 1987. In 1998, he earned his Master’s of Arts in Computer Science at Indiana University Bloomington where he also earned his joint Ph.D. in Philosophy and Cognitive Science in 1998.
His 2017 textbook, A Concise Introduction to Logic, is an introduction to formal logic suitable for undergraduates taking a general education course in logic or critical thinking, and is accessible and useful to any interested in gaining a basic understanding of logic.
Craig recently finished a book, Why Consciousness is Irreducible, which is under review. It argues that phenomenal experiences appear mysterious because they are irreducibly complex. This then renders (a form of non-reductive) physicalism — our best bet for explaining consciousness.
His other writing includes speculative fiction and plays. His story Julie is Three won the 2012 Anlab award for best short story, and is being made into a feature film by Storycom. Another of his stories RedKing appeared in Gardner Dozois’s 34th Annual Year’s Best Science Fiction Anthology and in Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2017. Craig’s play My Tunguska Event was the finalist for the Heideman Award.
His short novels The Dark Forward (2012) and The Ediacaran Invasion (2017) are part of the Dangerous Ideas collection.
View his LinkedIn profile. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. Visit his homepage. Visit his Work in Philosophy page. Read his ResearchGate profile.
