Marina Trakas
Research group: LanCog
I am a philosopher engaged in interdisciplinary research and, at times, this collaborative work also leads me into scientific practice. My background is in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, and my research focuses on memory, dreams, and, more recently, space, with particular attention to their affective dimensions.
While my earlier work on memory mainly examined its relation to affectivity and its perspectival nature, I have also explored memory kinds, embodied forms of remembering the personal past, and the presence of the self in memory. More recently, my research has addressed how trauma and fear generalization can produce epistemic harms, affecting not only those who experience them but also others. In addition, I have worked on memory metaphors, with a particular focus on the mental time travel metaphor. I am currently extending this line of research through empirical work on memory metaphors, memory beliefs, and memory biases, all themes which are closely connected to my current FCT-funded theoretical project, focused on memory biases, memory virtues, and mnemonic humility.
Regarding dreams, my research has primarily focused on two areas: dream emotions, especially in relation to emotions related to fiction and imagination, and the debate on continuity and discontinuity between waking and dreaming, with a particular emphasis on the self, which I also investigate empirically. More recently, I have begun exploring how space shapes our mental and affective lives.
I hold a PhD in Philosophy from Macquarie University (Australia) and a PhD in Cognitive Science from the Institut Jean Nicod (École des hautes études en sciences sociales, France).
Email: mtrakas@letras.ulisboa.pt
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/marinatrakas
Philpapers: https://philpeople.org/profiles/marina-trakas
Selected Publications
Trakas, M. & Rosen, M. (forthcoming). Emotional responses to dreams and imagination. Erkenntnis.
Trakas, M., & Miceli, K. (forthcoming) The debate on continuity between the waking and dreaming minds. Chapter in de Brigard, F., & Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (Eds.), Neuroscience and Philosophy II, MIT Press.
Trakas, M. (forthcoming) Epistemic harms of sexual violence. In G. Gardiner & M. Bez (Eds.) The philosophy of sexual violence, Routledge.
Trakas, M. (2025) Ethics and Memory. In: Bietti, L.M., Pogacar, M. (Eds.) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Memory Studies, Palgrave Macmillan.
Trakas, M., & Puddifoot, K. (2024) Fear generalization and mnemonic injustice, Episteme.
Rosen, M. & Trakas, M. (2024). Are dream emotions fitting? Philosophical Psychology.
Trakas, M. (2023) Journeying to the past: Time travel and mental time travel, how far apart? Frontiers in Psychology.
Puddifoot, K. & Trakas, M. (2023) Epistemic agency and the generalization of fear, Synthese.
Trakas, M. (2022). El viaje mental en el tiempo en filosofía y la ciencia cognitiva de la memoria. Revista de Humanidades de Valparaíso.
Trakas, M. (2021). Dimensiones de análisis de los recuerdos personales como recuerdos afectivos. Revista de Psicología (UNLP).
Trakas, M. (2021). Kinetic memories. An embodied form of remembering the personal past. Journal of Mind and Behavior.
Trakas, M. (2021). No trace beyond their name? Affective memories, a forgotten concept. L’Année psychologique / Topics in Cognitive Psychology.
Trakas, M. (2019). On epistemic responsibility while remembering the past: The case of individual and historical memories. Les Ateliers de l’éthique/The Ethics Forum.
Trakas, M. (2019). How to distinguish long-term individual memory representations? A historical and critical journey. Voluntas: Revista Internacional de Filosofía.