معرفی
Alison Peterman serves as Associate Professor in both the Department of Philosophy and Department of Brain and Cognitive Science at the University of Rochester, where she also directs the BA Program for the Rochester Education Justice Initiative. Her office is located in 520 Lattimore Hall.
Her educational background includes a PhD in Philosophy (2012) from Northwestern University, an MS in Physics (2012) from the University of Maryland, and a BA in Philosophy (2004) from the University of Richmond.
Peterman specializes in Early Modern Philosophy with particular focus on Margaret Cavendish, Spinoza, and Descartes. Her research examines metaphysical structure, philosophy of perception, materialism, and the history of philosophy of science. She approaches Cavendish's work through naturalism and anti-anthropocentrism rather than anthropomorphic interpretations, revealing novel connections between metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and epistemology in seventeenth-century thought.
Her forthcoming publications demonstrate sustained engagement with Cavendish's materialism and Spinoza's physical theory, showing how these thinkers addressed motion, merology, mind-body relations, and scientific methodology. The publications reveal a consistent pattern of analyzing how early modern philosophers constructed natural philosophical systems that challenge anthropocentric assumptions while engaging deeply with contemporary scientific developments.
As an educator, Peterman teaches diverse courses including Introduction to Philosophy (both standard and prison-based sections), Introduction to Modern Philosophy, Theory of Perception (jointly with cognitive scientists), Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, and specialized seminars on Panpsychism, Abstraction, and Rationalism/Empiricism.
She actively contributes to academic community initiatives through the Rochester Prison Education Project and History and Philosophy of Physics Lecture Series, demonstrating commitment to both scholarly excellence and educational access.
