Dr Jessica Leech

BA (Cantab), MPhil (London), PhD (Sheffield and Geneva)

Jessica joined the KCL department in September 2016. She has previously been a lecturer at the University of Sheffield, and a Junior Research Fellow at King's College, Cambridge. She did her doctorate jointly at the University of Sheffield and the University of Geneva (as part of the “Theory of Essence” research project based at the Eidos Centre for Metaphysics at the University of Geneva), supervised by Fabrice Correia and Bob Hale.

Research interests and PhD supervision

• Metaphysics and logic of modality
• Metaphysics
• Kant
• Philosophical Logic

Jessica’s research interests, contemporary and historical, centre around the topic of modality. She is interested in contemporary issues in the metaphysics of modality, such as the notion of essence, and the relationships between different kinds of  necessity. She is also interested in exploring what Kant had to say about modality, and issues arising from that.

Jessica's recent book, Thinking of Necessity: A Kantian Account of Modal Thought and Modal Metaphysics (OUP, 2023) draws out Kant's views on modality, and applies them to contemporary issues in the metaphysics of modality.

Jessica welcomes enquiries from prospective students seeking supervision in areas connected to her research interests.

Teaching

Jessica’s primary teaching is across all areas and levels of metaphysics. She has also taught Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason,  General History of Philosophy, and philosophical logic.