Qian Cao

Qian Cao is the John and Daria Barry Postdoctoral Fellow with the Initiative in Ancient and Contemporary Philosophy. Her main research interests lie in ancient philosophy—especially Plato's moral psychology and epistemology—and in psychoanalysis. Her current research explores the psychological challenges of inquiry from a perspective that draws on both Plato and Freud. Beginning with Plato’s intense engagement with ancient relativism, particularly Protagoras’ Measure Doctrine, her dissertation centers around the distinction between appearance and reality that runs through Plato's work. She argues that moving from appearance to reality is hard not only because reality is difficult to grasp, but also because we have a tendency to thwart our best effort at seeing the world for what it is.

At Columbia and through projects led by NYU faculty, Qian had the opportunity to teach a range of classes, including Contemporary Civilization (CC), Ethics, History of Philosophy I, Classical Chinese Philosophy, and Introduction to Philosophy.

Qian holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Columbia University and a B.A. in Philosophy from NYU.