Edward Jacobs

I am a research assistant working within the NEUROSEC team at the Department of Psychiatry, as well as the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities.

My current research within the department is best characterised as ‘empirical ethics’: using both normative theorising and psychological and sociological data to better understand the nature of morality. For example, as part of the BeGOOD project’s ‘digital diaries’ study, I am supporting the development of new methodologies to explore how adolescents experience morality on a day-to-day basis.

At the Wellcome Centre, I work alongside Prof Ilina Singh on the industry-funded Flying Brains Neuroethics Project. Supported by Airbus, the project explores ethical and societal dimensions of bioengineered autonomous drones, and the issues arising from the development of collective swarm intelligences.

Before joining the department, I worked at The Beckley Foundation, supporting psychedelic science studies with university partners. I continue to research scientific, bioethical, and policy aspects of psychedelic therapy as a Visiting Associate at King’s College London’s Centre for Affective Disorders.

I completed my undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, before continuing to graduate study in Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Neuroscience at Sheffield and UCL.