Humanities in the Village, featuring Patrick Connolly: Newton’s Metaphysics of Substance: God, Bodies, Minds

Humanities in the Village returns in October with Patrick Connolly discussing his new book, *Newton’s Metaphysics of Substance: God, Bodies, Minds*. Connolly presents a systematic account of Isaac Newton’s thinking about substance, God, material bodies, human minds, causation, dependence, and related questions of modality. Drawing on both published and unpublished sources, he places Newton’s ideas within early modern philosophy and considers their significance alongside Newton’s work in mathematics and physics.

Professor Tim Jankowiak will join Connolly for the conversation. The event is part of a series produced with the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute at Johns Hopkins University, with the goal of bringing academic scholarship to a general audience.

When: Monday, October 26th, 2026

Showtimes: 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Venue: Bird in Hand Coffee & Books, 11 East 33rd Street, Baltimore, MD 21218

Series: Humanities in the Village, presented in partnership with the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute at Johns Hopkins University

Featured speaker: Patrick Connolly

Conversation partner: Professor Tim Jankowiak

Program: Connolly will discuss Newton’s unified views of God, material bodies, human minds, and the relationships among them, as well as questions of ontology, causation, modality, and dependence.

Book: *Newton’s Metaphysics of Substance: God, Bodies, Minds*

About Patrick Connolly: Connolly’s scholarship examines the intersections of philosophy, theology, and the natural sciences in early modern Europe and North America, with particular attention to John Locke, Isaac Newton, and related thinkers. His work includes studies of Locke’s theory of mind, mechanism, causation, laws of nature, and gravitational attraction, as well as Newton’s influence on later thinkers including Richard Bentley, George Cheyne, and Susanna Newcome. He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and history from Georgetown University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His current work includes a monograph on Newton’s metaphysics, editorial work for the Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke, and editing the *Oxford Handbook of Locke*.

About Tim Jankowiak: Jankowiak specializes in Kant’s metaphysics, epistemology, and theory of mind. His recent research addresses sensation and cognition, the object-directedness of mental states, consciousness, and the foundations of physics. He teaches courses in the history of philosophy, philosophy of mind, philosophical theories of the self, and related subjects. He has served as assistant chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies since 2023 and as vice president of the North American Kant Society since 2026. Outside academia, he is an oil painter whose representational and sometimes hyperrealist work has appeared in national juried exhibitions.

Tickets: Price not available

RSVP: An RSVP is requested through the event page.

Books: Attendees can order *Newton’s Metaphysics of Substance: God, Bodies, Minds* through the event page.

Accessibility: Accessibility information is not provided.