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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
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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 Ǻ, 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

Two sets of hands making a pot on a pottery wheel

Show me your bowl and I’ll tell you who you are

28/05/2024 at 17.30

How can material culture be used to reconstruct ancient human stories?

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Abstract marble sculpture with interconnected shapes and voids, displayed on a black pedestal against a draped white background.

Sculpture unveiling: Essay on Reticulations

28/05/2024 at 18.30

Join us for the unveiling of Essay on Reticulations, a new sculptural work at Ǻ.

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WolfWorks: Writing for Publication

01/06/2024 at 10.00

Thinking about submitting an article to a journal,  a chapter for publication in an edited volume, or turning your PhD thesis into a book?

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Filmmaking for Transformative Research: Capturing Insights into Educational Change through Documentaries in Brazil and Beyond

04/06/2024 at 17.30

How can documentary filmmaking enhance research on reform and innovation, and what are the challenges and opportunities in using film to capture and convey complex educational changes?

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Ǻ Head Gardener in a white hat explaining features of green plants to visitors in an outdoor setting.

Ǻ Garden Tour: A World Environment Day Celebration

05/06/2024 at 16.45

What solutions are the Ǻ gardeners employing to grow trees, revive water sources and rejuvinate soil?

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