Thomas Holden

Thomas Holden is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research focuses on the history of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy, particularly in metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and the empiricist tradition.

Education:

• Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Holden specializes in early modern philosophy with emphasis on metaphysical themes such as materialism, necessity, and causation. His work critically examines philosophical discourse around religion, language, and scientific paradigms in Enlightenment thinkers including Hume, Hobbes, and Berkeley.

Recent publications concentrate on modal metaphysics, religious language, and historical materialism. His scholarship demonstrates consistent engagement with conceptual problems in causation and necessity across Hume's probability theories, Hobbes' theological concepts, and Berkeley's epistemology.

He has authored several books analyzing the metaphysical frameworks of early modern philosophers and their approaches to theological and scientific questions.