Simon Schaffer

By Sara L. Austin, EdD

Simon Schaffer is a professor of history and philosophy of science at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He has studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned his B.A., and later, a Ph.D. He studied at Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar for one year.

Schaffer is a notable scholar of the history and philosophy of science and was awarded the History of Science Society’s Sarton Medal in 2013 for his lifetime of achievement. His research investigates the nature of seventeenth—nineteenth century scientific inquiry, as reflected by their early practices and materials.

His 1985 book, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life, coauthored with Steven Shapin, was awarded the Erasmus Prize in 2005. He is also known in Britain for his role as a presenter on the Light Fantastic series on the BBC.

He is currently serving as co-investigator for “Making Climate History”, a Leverhulme Project and on the advisory board for the Science Museum. He has taught at Imperial College in London, UCLA, and at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris. Most recently, Schaffer has served as co-editor with Bruno Latour and Pasquale Gagliardi for A Book of the Body Politic Connecting Biology, Politics and Social Theory, published in 2020.

Academic Website

Featured in Top Influential Philosophers Today

Major published works by Simon Schaffer:

• Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life
• Aesthetics of Universal Knowledge