Jenny Wu

Education

• MSc Linguistics, University of Edinburgh (2021)

• MSc Philosophy, University of Edinburgh (2019)

• BA Philosophy, Wuhan University (2018)

Research

I have a broad interest in epistemology, language, communication sciences, and their interfaces. My recent focus in contemporary epistemology revolves around debates on skepticism, pragmatic-leaning epistemologies, permissivism, and a variety of measurement issues. In semantics, I am particularly drawn to the aspectuality of verb phrases and event structures, as well as the mass-count distinction and mereological issues surrounding noun phrases. This interest has also driven a broader curiosity about the relationship between ontology, semantics, and natural language grammar.

More recently, I have also been deeply intrigued by the dynamic interactions between individuals and the social systems they participate in. My work explores a non-idealistic outlook on the social ontology that backgrounds our moral life – investigating how our fallibility, mortality, and limited capacities for thought, action, and communication jointly shape societal structures and personal experiences. I am primarily captivated by the nature of ethical dilemmas – I aim to study their structural features and implications for decision-making, communication, social interactions, and legal practices in a holistic way.

Publications