Michela Massimi is an Italian and British

philosopher of science A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

, a professor of philosophy at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, and the president-elect of the

Philosophy of Science Association The Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) is an international academic organization founded in 1933 that promotes research, teaching, and free discussion of issues in the philosophy of science from diverse standpoints. The PSA engages in activit ...

. Her research has involved scientific perspectivism and

perspectival realism In Caspar Hare's theory of perspectival realism, there is a defining ''intrinsic'' property that the things that are in perceptual awareness have. Consider seeing object A but not object B. Of course, we can say that the visual experience of A i ...

, the

Pauli exclusion principle In quantum mechanics, the Pauli exclusion principle states that two or more identical particles with half-integer spins (i.e. fermions) cannot occupy the same quantum state within a quantum system simultaneously. This principle was formulat ...

, and the work of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

Education and career

Massimi has dual Italian and British citizenship. After studying philosophy at

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

from 1993 to 1997, she completed a Ph.D. in 2002 at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, and after three years of postdoctoral research as a Junior Research Fellow at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...

, she became a Lecturer in history and philosophy of science at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 2005. She moved to the University of Edinburgh in 2012 and became professor there in 2015. She was co-editor-in-chief of the ''

British Journal for the Philosophy of Science ''British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'' (''BJPS'') is a peer-reviewed, academic journal of philosophy, owned by the British Society for the Philosophy of Science (BSPS) and published by University of Chicago Press. The journal publishes ...

'' from 2011 to 2016, and has been elected as president of the

for the 2023–2024 term.

Recognition

Massimi was the Wilkins–Bernal–Medawar Medalist and Lecturer of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 2017, speaking on "Why philosophy of science matters to science". She was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2018, and as Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

in 2019. She was also elected to the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

in 2019.

Books

Massimi is the author of ''Pauli’s Exclusion Principle: The Origin and Validation of a Scientific Principle'' (Cambridge University Press, 2005). Her

edited volume An edited volume or edited collection is a collection of scholarly or scientific chapters written by different authors. The chapters in an edited volume are original works (not republished works). Alternative terms for edited volume are ''contrib ...

s include: *''Kant and Philosophy of Science Today'' (Cambridge University Press, 2008) *''Philosophy and the Sciences for Everyone'' (Routledge, 2014) *''Kant and the Laws of Nature'' (with Angela Breitenbach, Cambridge University Press, 2017) *''Understanding Perspectivism: Scientific Challenges and Methodological Prospects'' (with Casey D. McCoy, Routledge, 2019) *''Knowledge from a Human Point of View'' (with Ana-Maria Creţu, Springer, 2020)

References

External links

Home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massimi, Michela Living people British philosophers British women philosophers Italian philosophers Italian women philosophers Philosophers of science Sapienza University of Rome alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Academics of University College London Academics of the University of Edinburgh Members of Academia Europaea Year of birth missing (living people)