Cowen is a contemporary philosopher working in the philosophy of linguistics and cognitive science, engaging with questions about the learnability of natural language grammars from primary linguistic data. Their work intersects formal learning theory with debates about linguistic nativism and the poverty of the stimulus.
Argued for unlearnability of certain grammars from primary linguistic data (pld)
Contributed to formal learnability debates in philosophy of language
Engaged with nativist and empiricist positions on language acquisition