Mr. Zijian Ding | Philosophy of AI | Best Researcher Award

University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom

Mr. Zijian Ding is an emerging interdisciplinary researcher whose work bridges analytic philosophy, psychoanalysis, and cognitive science to explore the structures of self-knowledge, affect, and intelligence. His research integrates theoretical frameworks from figures such as Moran, Lacan, Wollheim, and Žižek with contemporary psychological and cognitive models, focusing on how emotions, interpersonal dynamics, and cultural-symbolic structures shape reflective awareness. He has developed a model of self-knowledge that challenges transparency-based accounts by foregrounding evaluative and relational dimensions. His interest in intelligence studies spans both human and artificial cognition, offering a Jungian typological reinterpretation of intelligence while critiquing task-based approaches common in current AI research. Within psychoanalytic theory, his work engages deeply with Lacanian foundations, examining themes such as desire, narcissism, sublimation, and the role of the symbolic order in subject formation. He actively contributes to reading groups, seminars, and public-facing academic communities, facilitating collective inquiry into concepts like the gaze, the Real, and the dialectic between scientific discourse and psychoanalytic practice. He also collaborates on interdisciplinary projects that connect philosophy with psychological research methodologies, including qualitative inquiry and statistical analysis. His contributions extend to academic presentations, peer-led counselling communities, and philosophical dialogues on culture, ethics, and social theory. His citation metrics are forthcoming, with profiles being prepared for indexing on Scopus and Google Scholar, where future h-index values will track his growing scholarly impact. His emerging publication record reflects a commitment to integrating continental and analytic traditions to address questions at the intersection of mind, emotion, and human meaning.

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ORCID

Featured Publications 

Ding, Z. (2025). Intelligence as typological cognition: Revisiting Jungian functions for human and artificial minds. Proceedings.