Jon Miller

Education

• BA, Carleton College 
• MA, University of Wisconsin
• PhD, University of Toronto

Specializations / Research Interests

Early Modern Philosophy (esp. rationalism), Ancient Philosophy (esp. Stoicism)

About

Jon Miller is a specialist in early modern and ancient philosophy. His particular interest lies in the reception of ancient philosophy by early modern philosophers. He is best known for his work on Spinoza and the Stoics, though he has also published on other early modern thinkers such as Grotius and Descartes, and other ancients, including Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus and the Skeptics. Miller’s many publications include six books, numerous journal articles and book chapters, an array of encyclopedia entries, and more. Miller has been fortunate to have his research supported by various grants, including several from SSHRC, a Chancellor’s Research Award (Queen’s), and others.

Though Miller’s published works fall mostly in the history of philosophy, he maintains a wide range of philosophical interests. These are reflected in the courses that Miller regularly teaches or co-teaches, including first-year introduction to philosophy, second-year metaphysics and epistemology, third-year history of philosophy, African philosophy, and more. Miller enjoys teaching and he is often named for teaching awards.

Sample Monograph

• Spinoza and the Stoics (Cambridge UP, 2015); translated into two other languages

Sample Edited Collection

• (with Brad Inwood) Hellenistic and Early Modern Philosophy (Cambridge UP, 2003)

Selected Other Publications

• “A distinction regarding happiness in ancient philosophy”, Social Research:  An International Quarterly of the Social Sciences, vol. 77 (summer 2010)
• “Hugo Grotius and his new approach to the law of nations” in Christianity and Global Law, ed. by Rafael Domingo Osle and John Witt (Routledge, 2020)
• “Grotius” in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Selected Work in Progress

• “Rights in Hellenistic Thought” in The Cambridge History of Rights, vol. 1, ed. by Clifford Ando et al. (Cambridge UP, 2021)

Teaching

Miller has held faculty positions at Queen’s, the University of Minnesota, and Uppsala University. He has taught numerous different courses through the years, though these days he tends to teach PHIL 111 plus an upper-level course in the history of philosophy and a seminar.