Nina Emery

  • Professor of Philosophy
Nina Emery

Nina Emery’s work focuses on the intersection of metaphysics and the philosophy of physics. She is especially interested in the question of how and to what extent our best scientific theories, especially quantum mechanics and relativity theory, should inform our understanding of time, probability, and laws of nature. She also works on the question of how and to what extent standard scientific practice relies on appeals to extra-empirical criteria like simplicity and explanatory power.

Education

  • Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • B.A., Cornell University

Happening at Mount Holyoke

Recent Campus News

Nina Emery, associate professor of philosophy at Mount Holyoke College, has been awarded the inaugural Anthony J. Lisska Prize from the American Philosophical Association for her exemplary research and teaching.

Members of the Mount Holyoke community gathered recently to celebrate four professors at the annual Faculty Awards ceremony.

The Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees has voted to grant tenure to nine faculty members spanning disciplines from gender studies to physics.

Recent Grants

Received a fellowship from the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation for her project, "Philosophy and Physics in Conjunction and Across Time".

Recent Publications

Emery, N. (2023). Naturalism Beyond the Limits of Science: How Scientific Methodology Can and Should Shape Philosophical Theorizing. Oxford University Press.

Emery, N. (2022). Deterministic Chance. In E. Knox and A. Wilson (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Physics, 536-548.

Emery, N. (2020) Laws of Nature. In M. Raven (ed) Routledge Handbook of Metaphysical Grounding, 437-448.

Recent Awards

Professor Emery was a national finalist for the 2022 American Philosophical Association Prize for Excellence in Philosophy Teaching.

Recent Honors

Nina Emery was elected President of the Philosophy of Time Society for 2023-2026.

Was elected President of the Society for the Metaphysics of Science for the year 2022-2023, and will give the Presidential Keynote Address at the society's 2023 conference.

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