Research

Most of my research focuses on early modern approaches to issues at the intersection of philosophy, theology, and the natural sciences. I'm especially interested in the way these issues were understood in seventeenth and eighteenth century Britain and North America. I also have a longstanding interest in medieval philosophy, both on its own merits and as a key resource for understanding early modern thinkers. And I'm committed to recovering the contributions of early modern women philosophers. Most of my work on this front has involved the philosophical thought of Susanna Newcome.

My current projects include a monograph on Isaac Newton's metaphysics and editorial work for a volume in the Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke. I am also editing the Oxford Handbook of Locke.

A lot of my past and ongoing research falls under one of two categories:

John Locke

I’m fascinated by all things Lockean. But I am especially focused on developing an interpretation of John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding as an exercise in what we would now call cognitive psychology. Rather than a systematic examination of traditional questions in metaphysics and epistemology, I see the Essay as an examination of our cognitive functions and mental abilities. My hope is that approaching the Essay in this way and paying careful attention to Locke’s theory of ideas will show the depth and dynamism of his thought.

I argue that Locke's views were governed by a well-motivated but strict form of epistemic humility. I've pursued this idea in two directions. First, I've explored what it means for Locke's claims about our understanding of the natural world with respect to powers, laws of nature, and mechanism. Second, I've examined the ways it links up with his account of knowledge and especially with his claims about logic, demonstration, and proof.

Causation and Early Modern Natural Philosophy

A set of questions about the nature of causation and the causal processes present in the natural world also animate my research. There is a question from medieval philosophy that casts a long shadow over early modern debates on causation. Specifically, what causal work can be accomplished by created beings and what causal work must be done by God? This traditional question, and its relationship to innovations in thinking about causation like laws of nature and occasionalism, make early modern discussions of causation both fascinating and fruitful. I see Locke as making important contributions to these discussions and have worked to understand his views on the nature of causal processes and causal powers. I am also drawn to Newton’s views on causation and the ways in which Newtonian science refocused and brought urgency to these questions about causation.

On my view, the response to Newton in the period, particularly the response to the idea of gravitational attraction as a cause, is philosophically very important. In part, this is because it can teach us a great deal about the relationship between philosophy and the natural sciences. And, in part, it is because these questions touch on so many other philosophical topics. I’m specifically motivated to explore the ways in which these questions about causation force thinkers in the period to reevaluate their views on matter theory, cosmology, and natural theology. I’m committed to the idea that a number of early Newtonians—individuals like Susanna Newcome, Colin Maclaurin, and George Cheyne—develop philosophically innovative views that are worth exploring.