Dr Naomi Thompson PhD and MPhil University of Birmingham, BA University of Bristol
Senior Tutor, Lecturer in Philosophy
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Dr Naomi Thompson is a lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Southampton. Her primary research area is metaphysics.
I joined the department in Southampton as a lecturer in 2016, having previously held the position of Kit Fine Fellow (postdoctoral researcher) at Universität Hamburg in Germany, and spent a brief time teaching at Leeds University.
My research is mostly in metaphysics, but intersects with issues in philosophy of language and epistemology. I am particularly interested in two (related) areas. Firstly, in questions to do with metaphysical structure, fundamentality, and explanation (especially metaphysical explanation). Much of my work has focussed on the grounding relation, where I am interested in exploring non-standard conceptions of grounding, and considering whether grounding-talk might have useful applications outside of metaphysics. Secondly, I am interested in questions about how to characterise realism and antirealism in a given domain of discourse. I have recently been thinking about this in the context of fictional characters, which has led me to think more generally about questions in the philosophy of fiction and aesthetics.
I am starting to think about applying my work on metaphysical structure and metaphysical explanation to questions about the nature of social practices and social institutions.
Qualifications
BA, Philosophy and Theology, University of Bristol, 2009
MPhil, Philosophy, University of Birmingham, 2010
PhD, Philosophy, University of Birmingham, 2014