Alison Forster, Interdisciplinary M.Phil and MTS in Theology
Ph.D. Researcher in Philosophy
Alison “Ali” Forster
PhD Candidate in Philosophy
GCAS College Dublin- The Global Centre for Advanced Studies
Newfoundland, Canada
Biography
Ali Forster is a PhD researcher at GCAS College Dublin whose work explores the underlying philosophical mechanisms of quantum change in psychedelic-assisted therapy by drawing on Claude Romano’s phenomenology, epistemics, and Owen Flanagan’s work on Meaning in a Material World. They practiced therapeutic radiography for over a decade, developing a reputation for patient advocacy, a passion for patients struggling with mortality and those marginalized by social barriers. They now work in residential mental health and addictions adopting a staunchly trauma-informed approach, providing them with keen insight to the relationship between philosophy and lived experience.
They hold a B.Sc. (University of Waterloo), a B.Sc. in Medical Radiation Sciences (University of Toronto), and a Master of Theological Studies (Queen’s College, Newfoundland). They will soon defend their capstone project to complete their Interdisciplinary M.Phil in Humanities at Memorial University Newfoundland.
With an undergraduate education and research experience in Molecular Biology at the Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, over a decade of professional work in cancer care, graduate work in philosophy and theology, and a Buddhist practice, their doctoral research draws on this background to provide a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary explanation of quantum change in psychedelic-assisted therapy. Their approach is creative synthesis that both draws on and resists academic norms to construct a novel re-examination of existing literature in both clinical research and disciplinary philosophy.
Research Interests
Non-duality in Religious Philosophy
Philosophy of Science and Medicine
Consciousness Studies
Existential Psychology
Selected Activities
“Cataphatic Śūnyatā: A Pure Land Alternative to Dialogue Between Japanese Buddhism and Meister Eckhart” – Journal of Interreligious Studies (forthcoming)
Presenter of “I am (Not) Robot: A Buddhist Critique of AI Consciousness Tests” at Radical Impossibilities: Theology, Religion and AI conference
Outside GCAS
In between the draw of academic and professional work, Ali enjoys finding solitude on the East Coast Trails of Newfoundland, sitting quietly by a pond or pastelling. They love road trips with their platonic soul-mate to remote and less-travelled places and intense cuddles with their dachshund “Nero”. From time to time they binge YouTube content such as Religion for Breakfast, Peter Santanello, or Contrapoints, express their quirky fashion sense by making their own clothing, and indulge in 80s and 90s nostalgia.
Academic CV available at
https://www.alisonforsteronline.com
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