Ph.D. (Western Ontario), Associate Professor

Areas of Specialization:

History and philosophy of science, modern philosophy.

I received my Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Western Ontario, where I worked with Bill Harper. After that I spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago.

My primary research area is the history and philosophy of science. I specialize in 16th- and 17th-century astronomy and physics. I recently finished a book, Kepler's Philosophy and the New Astronomy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000). I have also taught courses on Feminist Philosophy, Kant, Leibniz, and basic logic. Currently I am working on Rheticus, who studied with Copernicus for two years (Rheticus wrote the Narratio Prima, which may be the best introduction to date to the Copernican theory). I am also looking at Leibniz's optimistic doctrine (that this is the best world possible) and its implications for his philosophy of science. Above is a picture of me in Halifax after a blizzard that puts Winnipeg to shame!

Selected Publications:

Kepler's Philosophy and the New Astronomy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000).

"Kepler's Solution to the Problem of a Realist Celestial Mechanics," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 30A.3 (Spring 1999): 377-394.

Office: 456 University College

Phone: 474-9104

E-mail: martensr@cc.umanitoba.ca