鶹Ӿ

Elze Mikalonyte

Dr Elzė Sigutė Mikalonytė

BA MA PhD

  • Position Governing Body Fellow Junior Research Fellow
  • School Biological Sciences Department of Psychology
  • Email esm53@cam.ac.uk
  • X Profile
  • Department link

Elzė Sigutė Mikalonytė is an aesthetician working at the intersection of philosophy and cognitive science. She is interested in psychological foundations of philosophically relevant concepts.

Elze Mikalonyte

Elzė is a Research Associate at the Department of Psychology and a Junior Research Fellow at 鶹ӾCollege, University of Cambridge. She completed her BA, MA, and PhD in Philosophy at Vilnius University, Lithuania.

In 2023, Elzė successfully defended her PhD thesis, titled ‘Mind-Independent, Yet Intuitive: A New Methodological Approach to the Ontology of Musical Works.’ During her doctoral studies, she spent a year at Institut Jean Nicod (CNRS-ENS-EHESS) in Paris, France.

Elzė is also a board member of the Lithuanian Philosophical Association and a steering committee member of the European Network for Philosophy of Music. Before she became a philosopher, she studied violin at Vilnius Conservatoire.

Elzė’s interests are in aesthetics, metaphysics, and philosophy of cognitive science. Her interdisciplinary approach has led to collaborations with philosophers, psychologists, musicologists, and neuroscientists. Elzė’s doctoral work focused on the philosophy of music and the ontology of musical works, incorporating empirical research on intuitions about the identity of musical works. She has also explored other topics in the experimental philosophy of aesthetics, such as the folk concept of art, intuitions on AI-created art, and the interaction between aesthetic and ontological judgments. At the Department of Psychology, Elzė is currently working on the “Higher Values: Aesthetic Experiences, Transcendence, and Prosociality” project with Professor Simone Schnall, Dr Ryan Doran, and Dr Jasmina Stevanov. Their interdisciplinary research investigates the cognitive and affective effects of aesthetic appreciation, exploring whether engagement with art and beauty can foster abstract thinking, encourage a broader perspective, and influence moral values and prosocial behaviour.

What's on

Orchid - Sophy Ricket

Art Exhibition: 'On Being One'

16/11/2024 at 10.00

Visit Wolfson's latest exhibition 'On Being One' featuring work by visual artist Sophy Rickett.

View more
WolfWorks logo

WolfWorks - Critical Reading and Note Making

16/11/2024 at 10.00

Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of reading you have?  Do you have a good system in place for making succinct and useful notes?

View more
A young man plays a grand piano on stage during a performance, focused on the keys.

Lunchtime Concert Series: Themes and Variations

16/11/2024 at 13.30

Join us for a recital by student pianist Peter Ng and baritone Sergi Savanelli

View more
Hands on a laptop keyboard

Why writing at PG level is hard (and what you can do to make it a bit easier)

19/11/2024 at 17.30

Having difficulty writing at the postgraduate level? Join Professor Karen Ottewell as she discuss the steps you can take to make your writing more effective.

View more
A city skyline silhouetted against a vibrant orange and yellow sunset.

Egypt’s New Republic: From Tahrir’s Euphoria to Sisi’s Authoritarianism – what went wrong?

19/11/2024 at 17.30

Why do Egyptians in deprived communities accept a more authoritarian social contract under Sisi after their high hopes for democracy in Tahrir Square?

View more
Show all

News

Show all