Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Biography
Pauline Phemister M.A. Ph.D. (Edinburgh) returned to the department in 2005, prior to which she held a British Academy Post-doctoral Fellowship at the University of Oxford and taught at the Universities of Nebraska-Lincoln and Liverpool. She is author of Leibniz and the Natural World and The Rationalists: Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. Her most recent book - Leibniz and the Environment - develops a Leibnizian ecological philosophy. She has also published abridged edition of John Locke's Essay concerning Human Understanding for Oxford World's Classics. Among her other projects, she leads the local Edinburgh activities of the international Uncertain Human Future Council, was a co-investigator on an AHRC project on Ancestral Time (2013-16) and is currently the Principal Investigator on the RSE funded interdisciplinary project, Living Organisms and their Choices.
Research Interests
Early modern philosophy, particularly Leibniz, and contemporary ecological philosophy. Her current research interests bring seventeenth century philosophical ideas to bear on issues of the environment and deep ecology.
Teaching
Courses taught
2020-21
The Rationalists: Spinoza and Leibniz (Honours Year 4)
Philosophy and the Environment (Honours Year 4)
2019-20
The Rationalists: Spinoza and Leibniz (UG Year 4/MSc)
Philosophy and the Environment (UG Year 4/MSc)
MSc/PhD Philosophy Proseminar, 1 seminar
Dissertation in Philosophy, 2 students (UG Year 4)
2018-19
Contemporary Debates in the History of Philosophy (MSc)
Mind and Body in Early Modern Philosophy (MSc)
MSc/PhD Proseminar, 1 seminar
Greats: From Plato to the Enlightenment, introductory and final lectures (UG Year 1)
Philosophy and the Environment (UG Year 4/ MSc)
Dissertation in Philosophy, 1 student (UG Year 4)
MSc Dissertation in Philosophy, 3 students (MSc)
Administrative Roles
College (Edinburgh)
Mentor, Post-doctoral fellow, IASH, 2013-14
Mentor, Mentoring Connections Programme, 2016-
Acting Director, IASH, 2009-10
Deputy Director, IASH, 2008-12
College Research Committee, 2009-10
Hume Tercentenary Steering Group, 2009-2011 (Chair, 2009-2010)
KE/Impact Committee, 2009-12
Edinburgh Centre for Climate Change Steering Group, 2009
School
School Academic Misconduct Officer, 2018-
External
Chair, British Society for the History of Philosophy, 2011-14
Member, Management Committee, British Society for the History of Philosophy, 2008-to date
Associate Editor, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2011+
Book Review Editor, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2009-11
Member, CHCI Humanities for the Environment Steering Group, 2009-
External Examining, Phd, MSc, UG: various
Departmental (Edinburgh)
Research Advisor:Philosophy, 2015-18
Course Organiser (Greats, sub-Hounours, 2014-19; Philosophy and Environment, 2006+; MSc, Minds and Bodies in Early Modern Philosophy, 2007+;MSc Introduction to Philosophical Method, 2007-08; History of Modern Philosophy, 2008, MSc Introduction to Advanced Philosophical Method, 2006-08.
Personal Tutor (40+ students), 2007+.
Member, Search Committee for Chair in Philosophy, 2007.
Convenor of the Board of Examiners, Philosophy, 2006 -08
Chair, Teaching Programme Review, Philosophy. 2005-06.
Qualifications
PhD, July 1985, University of Edinburgh
John Macmurray Prize (University of Edinburgh, 1985)
Scottish Education Department, Major Studentship (1981‑84)
Dip. Lib., 1981, College of Librarianship Wales
MA (Hons.) II, i, 1980, University of Edinburgh
Bruce of Grange Hill Award (University of Edinburgh, 1980)
Websites
Education/Academic qualification
Philosophy, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Matter from Monads: a Study of the Interrelations between Monads and Bodies in the Philosophy of G. W. Leibniz, University of Edinburgh
Keywords
- BD Speculative Philosophy
- Early Modern Philosophy
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Leibniz and the Environment
Phemister, P., 4 Apr 2016, Routledge. 196 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Malebranche and Leibniz on animal pain and divine justice
Phemister, P., 25 May 2016, Animals: New Essays. PhilosophiaResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Leibnizian Pluralism and Bradleian monism: a question of relations
Phemister, P., Jan 2016, In: Studia Leibnitiana. 45, p. 61-82 22 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
The souls of seeds
Phemister, P., 2015, Leibniz's Metaphysics and Adoption of Substantial Forms: Between Continuity and Transformation. Nita, A. (ed.). Dordrecht: Springer, p. 125-141 (The New Synthese Historical Library; vol. 74).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Open AccessFile -
Leibniz's Monadological positive aesthetics
Phemister, P. & Strickland, L., 6 Nov 2015, In: British Journal for the History of Philosophy. 23, 6, p. 1214-1234 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile
Activities
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Emergence of Normativity in Prenatal Development: Jonathan Delafield Butt. NOM project.
Pauline Phemister (Participant)
24 May 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Marek McGann, The Emergence of Normativity from Tangled Symmetries
Pauline Phemister (Participant)
3 May 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Normativity in Dissipative Structures
Pauline Phemister (Participant)
19 Mar 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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The Emergence of Normative Chemistry
Pauline Phemister (Participant)
11 Oct 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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XI Internationaler Leibniz-Kongree
Pauline Phemister (Participant)
31 Jul 2023 → 4 Aug 2023Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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NOM: Normativity and Origin of Mnd
6/09/23 → 5/09/26
Project: Research Collaboration with external organisation
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Uncertain Human Future Council
25/01/16 → …
Project: Research Collaboration with external organisation
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PPLS Small Project Grant: Living Organisms and their Choices
1/05/19 → 31/07/19
Project: University Awarded Project Funding
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Caring for the Future Through Ancestral Time: Engaging the Cultural and Spiritual Presence of the Past to Promote a Sustainable Future
Northcott, M., Bomberg, E., Brady, E., Chick, M., Ginn, F. & Phemister, P.
5/09/13 → 4/09/16
Project: Research
Press/Media
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‘The Philosophical Gap: From Good Intentions to Climate Action’ (in two parts)
22/07/21 → 12/11/21
2 Media contributions
Press/Media: Expert Comment