Founder and Principal Investigator - Center for Philosophy and the Natural Sciences
California State University Sacramento

Michael Epperson did his doctoral work in philosophy of science and philosophy of religion at The University of Chicago, and earned his Ph.D. there in 2003. His dissertation, Quantum Mechanics and the Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, was written under the direction of philosopher David Tracy and physicist Peter Hodgson, Head of the Nuclear Physics Theoretical Group at the University of Oxford. It was published the following year by Fordham University Press. His current research explores the philosophical implications of recent innovations in quantum mechanics, cosmology, and complexity theory. This exploration is ultimately a speculative metaphysical enterprise intended to contribute to the framework of a suitable bridge by which scientific, philosophical, and even theological concepts might not only be cross-joined, but mutually supported. His forthcoming book, co-edited with David Ray Griffin and Timothy E. Eastman, is entitled, Physics and Speculative Philosophy: The Rehabilitation of Metaphysics in 21st Century Science.

Epperson is the founder and director of the Center for Philosophy and the Natural Sciences at California State University, Sacramento and a Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy. He is Principal Investigator of his current research project, “Logical Causality in Quantum Mechanics: Relational Realism and the Evolution of Ontology to Praxiology in the Philosophy of Nature,” funded by a $209,000 grant from the Fetzer-Franklin Fund and a $20,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation/CTNS STARS program.  

Epperson’s philosophical interests also include ethics and just war theory, and his work in these areas includes the 2005 documentary film, The 11th Day, (writer, producer) which chronicles the story of the Cretan civilian resistance against Nazi occupation in World War II. (www.The11thDay.com). The documentary received critical acclaim in publications including The Chicago Tribune, Canada’s National Post, The Sacramento Bee, and Newsday. A special advance screening was requested by members of the United States Congress in 2004 and held at the Capitol.  Research for the film, including unpublished photos and diaries, has been requested by and provided to museums around the world, including the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, The CIA Museum at CIA Headquarters, and Britain’s Imperial War Museum.