I'm a philosopher working on the nature of meaning in natural language and its relation to reasoning and consciousness.

I'm a linguist interested in how the symbolic aspect of meaning can help clarify the evolutionary origins of language.

I'm an NLP engineer working to improve meaningful interactions with language-based AI tools in the vein of ChatGPT.

I'm a classical musician, previously a finalist for the BBC Young Composers Award, experimenting with neoclassical electronica.

callumjhackett@gmail.com

« Research publications:

• On the insufficiency of form to determine meaning (2018) - abstract .pdf
• Syntax: one interface or two? (2018) - abstract .pdf
• Justifications for a discontinuity theory of language evolution (2017) - paper .pdf
• Universals of INFL: Challenges from Maybrat (2017) - abstract .pdf

After the COVID pandemic, I took a break from research for a few years. I’m now working on a book that fleshes out a research program for understanding the cognitive structure of language that I first outlined in my 2017 ‘Justifications’ paper.