Susan Mills

Biography

Susan Mills completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto, where she was a philosophy major in the philosophy specialist program. Following that, she entered the PhD program in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her MA and PhD degrees. Her main area of interest is in early modern philosophy, in particular the metaphysics and epistemology of the early modern period. Within that area, she has a special interest in the philosophy of René Descartes, and in her principal research pursuits she deals with Descartes’s medical philosophy in light of his claims regarding teleology and health. That research is part of a bigger picture project concerning issues of life, health, and teleology in the history of philosophy. Traces of these issues can be found in her other research and teaching interests, which include the philosophy of death, ancient philosophy, and moral philosophy.

Research Interest

British Empiricism Philosophy of Death and Dying Topics in the History of Philosophy: Living Machines: Living Bodies and Early Modern Mechanism