Stephen Harrop > Research

My main philosophical specialization is in the early modern history and philosophy of science, with special attention to Benedict de Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz. I also have various interests in contemporary metaphysics and philosophy of science.

One area of interest is explanatory rationalism, the view that every thing in a target area of inquiry has an explanation. This interest is both historical and contemporary.

In historical philosophy, I'm interested both in arguments for this view and in the structure that such explanations would take according to Spinoza and Leibniz. I'm interested in metaphysical versions of this principle and its consequences for scientific explanation. I'm currently at work on a book manuscript exploring the concept and use of scientific explanation in the philosophy of Spinoza.

In contemporary philosophy, I'm interested in arguments for the view, as well as in exploring the connection between explanatory rationalism and other contemporary metaphysical debates, such as the discourse surrounding the concept of grounding. I also have an ongoing interest in contemporary versions of monism.

I also have interest in other early modern figures. One of these is in the work of physicist and philosopher Emilie Du Châtelet, with a focus on her philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and metaphysics. Another is in the work of early modern mathematician Isaac Barrow, with special attention to his views on extended magnitude and its consequences for pure mathematics. Still another is in the philosophy of Thomas Reid, especially his unique conception of universals.