My primary area of interest is early modern philosophy, especially the connection between philosophy and science in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. More specifically, I have worked on mechanist conceptions of body and their justification, debates surrounding gravity/attraction, and changing views of scientific explanation in the early modern period. My publications include “The Status of Mechanism in Locke’s Essay” (Philosophical Review, 1998) and “Berkeley’s Natural Philosophy and Philosophy of Science” in the Cambridge Companion to Berkeley (2006). I have taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and have been a fellow of the Dibner Institute for the History of Science.
Courses: Fall 2011
(More information for enrolled students will be available on Carmen.)
Philosophy 801: Locke contra Cartesian Dualism
Among his contemporaries, Locke’s most notorious position was agnosticism about materialism: Locke argued that, for all we know, matter might think. Properly interpreting Locke’s claim and his case for that claim turns out to require an investigation of Locke’s metaphysics, natural philosophy, and epistemology. In this seminar, we will consider Locke’s attack on (the alleged certainty of) Cartesian dualism as part of his broader critical response to Descartes. Only a basic acquaintance with Descartes will be presupposed.
Philosophy 280: Metaphysics, Religion, and Magic in the Scientific Revolution
The seventeenth century saw revolutionary developments in natural science, specifically, in matter theory, mechanics, chemistry, and astronomy. These developments were thoroughly intertwined with theological doctrines and disputes, magical traditions, and, especially, philosophical theories and arguments. This course will examine some of these connections in the works of some of the most influential natural philosophers of the period, including Galileo, Descartes, Boyle, and Newton. Our main goal is a richer understanding of this crucial period in the development of modern science. In addition, as with any philosophy class, we will evaluate the cogency of the arguments and the consistency and plausibility of the views we encounter.