A Philosopher Draws Inspiration from Hanover's Surrounds

"I don't think I can imagine myself at this stage of my life without philosophy," muses Amie Thomasson. "It informs everything I do and how I live."

Professor Thomasson, who made strides early in her career as the second woman from her program to earn a PhD, was named one of the top 50 living philosophers—an accolade she shares with famous academics Judith Butler and Noam Chomsky. "I first took a philosophy class my first term in college and I didn't know what it was," she says. "I didn't know what 'metaphysics' and 'epistemology' meant. But in the longer description, it seemed like a lot of the questions I'd always been asking myself and hassling my mother with."

Today, Professor Thomasson is known for her scholarly work in philosophical methodology, the philosophy of the mind, phenomenology (the philosophy of lived experience), and metaphysics at large. The research for her most recent book, Rethinking Metaphysics, was funded by her 2022 Guggenheim fellowship. The prestigious award provides support to outstanding scholars and artists in midcareer to allow them to pursue their work without restriction. "I've been working a lot recently on questions about what philosophy can do," she says, explaining that philosophy can help with practical aspects of our lives. "There are all these increasing divergences of opinion. Do we want to just say, 'Oh, we can never know the truth,' or is there a way to resolve these questions and move forward?"

Professor Thomasson has taught and traveled all over the world—from Austria to Australia—in pursuit of her work. She
agrees, though, that there is nowhere quite like Dartmouth and the surrounding Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont. "I've never lived in any place with such a strong sense of community before, and I've lived all over," she says. Hiking, paddleboarding, kayaking, and cross country skiing are among her favorite activities she enjoys with her husband, who is also a Dartmouth professor, and their two daughters.

By breaking down complex concepts in class and applying them to examples from everyday life, Professor Thomasson hopes to "invite students to join into the great discussion." Her existential advice to prospective students is to be open to and aware of all of their academic options. "Find something you're passionate about and make the world your own."