John Morrison
Affiliation
I am an assistant professor of philosophy at Barnard College, Columbia University. I received my PhD from NYU in 2009.
Publications
"Colour in a Physical World," Mind (2012), 121, p.333-73, final, penultimate, appendix
"Conception and Causation in Spinoza's Metaphysics," Philosophers' Imprint (2013), 13, p.1-17 final
"Truth in the Emendation," forthcoming in The Young Spinoza, Yitzhak Melamed and Daniel Garber (eds.)
"Anti-Atomism about Color Representation," forthcoming in Nous, draft
Review of Valtteri Viljanen's Spinoza's Geometry of Power, forthcoming in British Journal for the History of Philosophy, draft
Teaching
In the fall of 2013 I will teach an introduction to logic (last year's syllabus) and a senior seminar on metaphysics. This spring I am teaching the history of philosophy from Aquinas to Kant (last year's syllabus) and, with Shamik Dasgupta, a graduate seminar on the nature of substance that alternates between Princeton and Columbia (syllabus).
I support the movement to publish teaching evaluations. A summary of my evaluations for 2012 is here.
Research
My research is primarily in the philosophy of mind and the history of modern philosophy (esp. the seventeenth century). I also have strong secondary interests in metaphysics, philosophy of language, medieval philosophy and logic.
I am currently working on three projects. The first is about the way that we visually represent colors and locations. It draws heavily on empirical psychology, particularly psychophysics and cognitive psychology. The second is about temporal experience. With Josh New I'm experimentally testing the link between cognitive speed and one's sense of time's passage. The third is about the first two parts of Spinoza's Ethics. It focuses on why Spinoza presents certain claims as axioms. I also hope to clarify his view of God's attributes.
