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Katherine A. Brading

Professor of Philosophy
Philosophy

Overview


I work primarily in philosophy of science. I am interested in theoretical physics read as a contribution to philosophy, and am currently working on a book project that re-tells history of philosophy from the late sixteenth century to the present day, with history of physics as an integral part of the story.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Philosophy · 2017 - Present Philosophy, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published May 2, 2025
When I Was Wrong: Faculty Lessons From Their Mistakes
Published October 21, 2024
Announcing the Inaugural Cohort of the Duke Faculty Academy
Published March 2, 2021
12 Duke-Authored Books on Women's History

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Recent Publications


In search of the historical Newton: on Part III of Dmitri Levitin’s The Kingdom of Darkness

Journal Article History of European Ideas · January 1, 2025 I review Part III of Dmitri Levitin's Kingdom of Darkness, itself a book-length study of Isaac Newton's life and works. I focus my attention on Levitin's interpretation of Newton's natural philosophy. On the negative side, Levitin argues that there is no m ... Full text Open Access Cite

Du Châtelet on the metaphysics and epistemology of time

Journal Article British Journal for the History of Philosophy · January 1, 2025 Du Châtelet’s Foundations of Physics contains important interventions in the eighteenth-century debates over the metaphysics and epistemology time. At the heart of her view, I argue, is an analysis of temporal experience that rests on our ability to repres ... Full text Open Access Cite

Philosophical mechanics in the age of reason

Book · February 22, 2024 From pebbles to planets, tigers to tables, pine trees to people; animate and inanimate, natural and artificial; bodies are everywhere. Bodies populate the world, acting and interacting with one another, and they are the subject-matter of Newton's laws of m ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


The Problem of Bodies from Newton to Kant

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Council of Learned Societies · 2017 - 2019

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Oxford (United Kingdom) · 2003 Ph.D.
University of Oxford (United Kingdom) · 1996 B.A.
King's College London (United Kingdom) · 1992 B.S.

External Links


My Website