Edward Jacobs

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

I originally joined the team to undertake research that 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 supported the development of new methodologies to explore how adolescents experience morality on a day-to-day basis.

I found the framework of empirical ethics to be particularly valuable, and am now carrying it - and other approaches - into my DPhil, an interdisciplinary exploration of the Bioethical Dimensions of Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy. A broad overview of the motivation and rationale for my project is available here.

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, Cognitive Neuroscience and Buddhist Studies.