Ruth Boeker

Professor Ruth Boeker is a leading scholar in early modern philosophy, particularly specializing in John Locke, Catharine Trotter Cockburn, and Scottish Enlightenment thought. She holds a Professorship at University College Dublin's School of Philosophy, where she also coordinates courses on ethics, personal identity, and women philosophers. Her research emphasizes correcting historical omissions by centering women's contributions to moral philosophy.

Boeker earned her PhD from the University of St Andrews (2013) and previously held positions at the University of Melbourne and SUNY Albany. Notable awards include the ERC Consolidator Grant (2025–2030) for her project rethinking British moral philosophy and the 2016 Innovation in Inclusive Curricula Prize for pedagogical innovation.

Her work bridges traditional philosophy with computational methods, analyzing underrepresented voices in Enlightenment debates. Key publications include Locke on Persons and Personal Identity (Oxford, 2021) and Catharine Trotter Cockburn (Cambridge, 2023). She currently leads international collaborations through her APA Committee role and supervises postdocs like Dr. Christian Henkel (Émilie Du Châtelet research).