Research

My research focuses primarily on thirteenth and fourteenth century philosophy. Topics I have worked on include causation, causal powers, modality, truth and God’s interaction with creatures. I have published on Aquinas and Scotus, as well as lesser-known, but nevertheless important, figures such as Peter Olivi and Thomas Bradwardine.

Another area of my research is the transitional period from late medieval philosophy to early modern philosophy and science.  One topic I am currently working on is late medieval/early modern discussions of the phenomenon we refer to today as a congenital disability. Organisms born without the standard attributes of their species were an important topic of debate in this transitional period in so far as they seemed to pose a counterexample to the Aristotelian theories of form, essence and final causality. My research examines both how thinking about congenital disabilities posed challenging questions about the natural world, as well as how shifts in natural philosophy led to shifts in views about the moral status of humans with severe disabilities.