Emily Lawson
Writer, PhD Student
Department of Philosophy
University of British Columbia
I am a Vanier Scholar in philosophy at the University of British Columbia, where I work closely with Evan Thompson, Cat Prueitt, and Dominic McIver Lopes. I work at the intersection of philosophy of mind, aesthetics, and Indian philosophy. My doctoral research on "Life's Painful Beauty" focuses on everyday aesthetic experiences, empathy, and rasa (aesthetic emotion) theory. I draw on Classical Sanskrit and anglophone Indian source materials in this research. I also work on the philosophical psychology of daydreaming and other imaginative experiences. Beyond philosophy, I am a publishing poet, and hold an MFA in poetry from the University of Virginia. As a Poe-Faulkner Fellow there, I taught poetry workshops and and served as Editor-in-Chief for the literary magazine Meridian.
Publications
Courageous Love: K. C. Bhattacharyya on the Paradox of Painful Beauty
with Dominic McIver Lopes
Published: Journal of the American Philosophical Association
K. C. Bhattacharyya proposed a distinctively modern theory of rasa, or aesthetic emotion, according to which aesthetic emotions are feelings that have other feelings as their intentional objects. This paper articulates how Bhattacharyya's theory offers a novel solution to the "paradox of sorrow": a puzzle about how it is both possible and rational to enjoy the kind of negative emotions that are inspired by tragic and sorrowful tales. Bhattacharyya's solution is distinct from the conversion and compensation views that dominate the existing literature, and it derives its significance from how it ties aesthetic experience to self-awareness.
Daydreaming as Spontaneous Immersive Imagination: A Phenomenological Analysis
with Evan Thompson
Published: Philosophy and the Mind Sciences
Research on the specific features of daydreaming compared with mind wandering and night-dreaming is a neglected topic in the philosophy of mind and the cognitive neuroscience of spontaneous thought. The extant research either conflates daydreaming with mind-wandering, treats daydreaming and mind-wandering as opposed, or characterizes daydreaming as any and all “imagined events.” These imprecise, dueling definitions pose an obstacle to future research in spontaneous thought. They also fail to illuminate the phenomenal core of daydreaming, namely, its dreamlike qualities. We argue that daydreaming is spontaneous immersive imagination in the waking state. Our investigation distinguishes daydreaming, conceptually and phenomenologically, from mind-wandering and night-dreaming. We also distinguish prototypical experiences of daydreaming from adjacent imaginative activity, including fleeting imagery and deliberate fantasy. We argue that precision about the phenomenal character of daydreaming can guide neurophenomenological investigations, including, for instance, assessing reports of so-called “maladaptive daydreaming.”
Selected Awards
2024 - Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS)
The Vanier CGS is the Government of Canada's most prestigious award for doctoral research.
2024- Brian Laetz Graduate Essay Prize
2023 - Adroit Djanikian Scholarship
Selected Poetry & Creative Prose Publications
The Adroit Journal: 2023 Djanikian Scholar Award Portfolio
Palette Poetry: "Sand Flats, UT" Winner of the 2022 Love & Eros Prize, selected by Kaveh Akbar, 2023 Pushcart Prize Nominee
The Adroit Journal: "Passenger Car," "Dining Car," and "Viewing Car" , Issue 42, 2022
Fugue: "Quiet Car," 2023 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Sonoran Review: "Flaming Gorge, UT" (Print)
The Indiana Review: "Coal Hollow Fire, UT" (Print) Winner of the 2019 1/2 K Prize
About Place Journal: "Things We Found Out There"
Lyric Poems:
Three Hearts: An Anthology of Cephalopod Poetry: "Aubade With Deep Sea Footage," (print) 2024
The Adroit Journal: "Exorcism" and "Past Tense" , Issue 43, 2022
Witness Magazine: "Deinotherium Elegy" (Print): Winner of the 2022 Witness Award in Poetry
Sixth Finch: "Primate Elegy"
Frontier Poetry: "Migration Elegy"
Muzzle Magazine: "Metaphysics is a Dead Field"
Birdfeast Magazine: "Bedroom," "Living Room," and "Laundry Room"
Poiesis: "Dining Room," "Storage Room," and "Garden Room"
Waxwing Literary Magazine: "Map Room," "Play Room," and "Panic Room"
Thrush Poetry Journal: "Darkroom" Orinson Prize Nominee; Verse Daily Web Weekly Feature
DIAGRAM: "Between Stations"
Short Fiction:
BOOTH Magazine: "Hosting" - 2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee; 2022 Best of the Net Nominee
Reviews:
Meridian: "Review: The Popul Vuh, Translated from the K’iche’ by Michael Bazzett" ,
Meridian: “Review: You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld.” (Print) Meridian.(41): 114-116.
Interviews:
Palette Poetry: "Interview with Emily Lawson" by A. T. Hincapie
The Philosopher's Nest S1E9: "Emily Lawson on Indian Philosophy, Death, and Imagination"
University of British Columbia: "Meet Our Award Holders: Emily Lawson"
Selected Recent and Upcoming Talks
February 18-21 2025
Author-Meets-Critics Session: Jed Forman's Out of Sight, Into Mind
APA Central Division, Chicago IL
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July 13, 2025
"Neo-Rasa Aesthetic Emotions"
Joint Session of the Aristotelian Society
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
April 21, 2025
"Bees for Enactivists"
Philosophy of Animal Minds and Behavior Association
Santa Barbara, CA
April 16-19, 2025
Symposium: South Asian Rasa Theory Meets Contemporary Aesthetics
APA Pacific Division, San Francisco
October 25, 2024
"Abhinavagupta and a Puzzle of Enjoying Aesthetic Disgust"
ASA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
May 20, 2024:
"Rasa and Negative Emotion"
Rasa 101 Workshop, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
November 18-21, 2023:
Hindu Philosophy Roundtable on Poetic Meaning
American Academy of Religion, San Antonio, TX
March 10, 2023:"Doing Deathbed Aesthetics with K. C. Bhattacharyya," ASA Pacific Division Annual Meeting, Berkeley, CA
March 2, 2023:
“Daydreaming as Spontaneous Immersive Imagination”
Uehiro Philosophy Conference at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, HI
February 25, 2023:
“Everyday Aesthetics and Deathbed Experiences"
International Association of Japanese Philosophy. (IAJP) Topic: Yuriko Saito's Philosophy
APA Central Division, Denver, CO
November 23, 2022
"Towards a Yogacāra-Informed Enactive Approach to Dreams," Author Meets Critics Session: Sonam Kachru, Other Lives: Mind and World in Indian Buddhism, American Academy of Religion, Denver, CO
October 16, 2022
“K. C. Bhattacharyya and the Paradox of Painful Beauty,” Workshop on K. C. Bhattacharyya, Smith College, Northampton, MA
CONTACT
Philosophy Department, Buchanan Hall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
