#  Jeffrey K. McDonough 

 



   ![Jeffrey McDonough](/sites/g/files/omnuum4731/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/mcdonough/files/sweater_just_head_shot_by_rose_cropped_but_not_tight.jpg?itok=b2GuOL9r) 

 

I am the Young J. Lee and Young Ju Rhee Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. I am also serving as the Department Chair and as the Director of the [Harvard History of Philosophy Workshop](/history-philosophy-workshop "History of Philosophy Workshop"). I grew up in rural Wisconsin but received my B.A. in philosophy from Santa Clara University in California in the Bay Area. I attended graduate school at Syracuse University and the University of California at Irvine before coming to Harvard in 2005.

My research focuses on the intersection of philosophy, science, and religion in the early modern era. An interview discussing my work can be found [here](https://www.3-16am.co.uk/articles/leibniz-berkeley-kant-frege-bees-toasters-and-julius-caesar?c=end-times-archive). I recently finished a series of papers on Émilie Du Châtelet’s views on space, time, and eternity, and co-edited, with [Clara Carus](https://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/people/clara-carus), a collection of essays on [Du Châtelet in relation to G.W. Leibniz and Christiaan Wolff](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-80541-7). I will be on sabbatical during the academic year 2026-2027. During that time, I will be working on papers on Mary Shepherd, Du Châtelet, and Leibniz. I will also be starting a new project on the philosophy of humor and be a visiting fellow at the [Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities](https://www.human-abilities.de/) at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.