Jessica Collins

I’m an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University in the City of New York.
My research is driven by a desire to understand the nature of rationality. I mostly spend my time thinking about formal epistemology and decision theory and making photographs on black & white film.

I have worked in the past on counterfactuals and the metaphysics of causation. My current projects focus on the formal theory of imaging as a method of supposition, on the foundations of causal decision theory, and on the manufacture of decentralized consensus: the epistemology of the blockchain.

I am teaching two classes in the Fall of 2025:

PHIL 4337 Early Twentieth Century Philosophy: Frank Ramsey
PHIL 4561 Probability and Decision Theory

Both are lecture courses cross-listed for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students.

I am the Philosophy advisor for Columbia’s Joint Major in Economics and Philosophy and the Departmental Representative for the School of Professional Studies’ 2026 Summer Session. I am also an elected member of the Policy and Planning Committee for Columbia University Arts and Sciences.

jessica.collins@columbia.edu