Dr Elisabeth Thorson
Philosopher
Elisabeth is a philosopher at Durham University. Her research focuses on John Locke, early modern British philosophy, natural law, Platonism, and the relationship between theology and politics in seventeenth-century Europe.
Elisabeth also works on questions in political philosophy, especially toleration, epistemic humility, moral judgement, and the limits of political authority.​​
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Elisabeth completed her PhD in the Department of Philosophy at the University of York in 2018, where she lectured from 2018 to 2020.
Selected Publications
Forthcoming ​
Toleration and Early Modern Platonism
In Platonism and Early Modern Philosophy,
ed. Douglas Hedley, Sam Kaldas, and Charles Taliaferro.
Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2027
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Articles and Chapters​
Locke Against Extremism: Christ, Humble Epistemology, and Toleration
In Locke and Religion, vol. 5 of Studi Lockiani, ed. Diego Lucci, 2024
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Locke on Cognitive Bias: Of the Conduct of the Understanding and Diseases of the Mind
With Tom Stoneham. In The Lockean Mind, ed. Jessica Gordon-Roth and Shelley Weinberg, 2021​
Upcoming Talks
June 2026
Right Reason and the Limits of Political Authority:
Locke, Natural Law, and the Cambridge Platonists
John Locke and His Contemporaries, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
September 2026
Toleration and the Limits of Authority in Early Modern Natural Law
International Society for Intellectual History Conference
Istanbul
Research&Projects
"Do not go where the path may lead. Instead, go where there is no path and leave a trail"