Davis Kuykendall

Davis Kuykendall

Davis Kuykendall

Director of Undergraduate Programs

Assistant Professor

Early Modern, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science

Davis Kuykendall is a faculty member in the Philosophy Department and the Honors College.  He received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and his Ph.D. from Purdue University.  Dr. Kuykendall's research interests include early modern philosophy, especially Leibniz, and issues related to causation in metaphysics and the philosophy of science. 

Selected Publications

"In Defense of the Agent and Patient Distinction: The Case from Molecular Biology and Chemistry," The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, forthcoming.

"Agent Causation, Realist Metaphysics of Powers, and the Reducibility Objection," Philosophia, 2021.

"Powerful Substances because of Powerless Powers," Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 2019.

"Leibniz on Spontaneity, the Eduction of Substantial Forms, and Creaturely Interaction: A Tension," Studia Neoaristotelica, 2019.

Courses Taught

PHIL 100: Intro to Philosophy

PHIL 173: Logic and Critical Thinking

PHIL 303: History of Modern Philosophy

PHIL 373: Theory of Knowledge

PHIL 425: Metaphysics of Space and Time (Directed Study)

PHIL 425: Causation (Directed Study)

PHIL 425: Leibniz's Metaphysics (Directed Study)

HNRS 110: Research and Inquiry

HNRS 131: Misinformation in Science

HRNS 360: Scientific Controversies

In the Media

Guest web lectures in HNRS 360: Scientific Controversies highlight the complexities of climate change research and consensus

Mason faculty use innovative courses to help students understand coronavirus pandemic