Nancy Cartwright FBA FAcSS is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University and a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In the first half of her career at Stanford University she specialised in the philosophy of the natural sciences, especially physics; in the second half, at the London School of Economics and now Durham and UCSD, she has specialised in philosophy and methodology of the social sciences with special attention to economics. Her current research focuses on objectivity and evidence, especially for evidence-based policy.
She was married to the late Sir Stuart Hampshire. They have two daughters, Emily Ellsworth Hampshire Cartwright and Sophie Hampshire Cartwright and two granddaughters, Lucy EC Charlton and Tabitha Cartwright Spray.
For the 2025–26 academic year, she is the Centenary Visiting Professor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford. Find out more about her in this profile interview.
Recently, she has been awarded the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Humanities “for her use of philosophy to strengthen scientific rationality and ground the adoption of effective, evidence-based public policies”. In this award-recipient interview, she discusses several key episodes in her career, including her work on philosophy of science in practice, philosophy of physics, philosophy of social sciences, causal inference, and knowledge for use.
Recent Talks
March 17-20, 2026
Carl G. Hempel Lecture, Princeton University, USA
Lecture 1: “Is Economics Queen of the Social Sciences?“
Lecture 2: “Dethroning Rigor“
November 12, 2025
PPE Centenary Lecture, University College, University of Oxford, UK
Keynote Lecture: “Is Economics Queen of the Social Sciences?”
Oct 24-25, 2025
2025 Annual Toronto Graduate Philosophy Conference, Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, Canada
Keynote Lecture: “Causal Processes and Their Warrant”
See here for more information on Nancy’s upcoming activities and recent lectures.
Featured Books
Also…
- Cartwright, N., Kelters, B., Munro, E., Ncube, L. and Pemberton, J. (2026). “Can I Make This Policy Work Here? Better Theories of Change and Better Evidence Management for Better Policy Design, Better Policy Prediction Illustrated with a South African HIV/AIDs Policy Intervention.”
- Cartwright, N., Kelters, B., Munro, E. and Pemberton, J. (2025). “Can I Make This Policy Work Here? Using Evidence for Better Policy Design, Better Policy Design, Prediction and Evaluation.”
- Cartwright, N., Foglesong, S., Furman, K., Hyde, BVE., Nyberg, G., Ortiz Villa, K. and Slanickova, H. (2025). “Towards a Theory of Objectivity for Activist Research.”
- Cartwright, N. and Cowen, N. (2024). “Disagreement about Evidence and Evidence Based Policy.”
- Cartwright, N. (2024) “Reliability Trumps Truth.”
- Cartwright, N. and Ray, F. (2024). “Modelling Objectively.”
- Cartwright, N. (2024). “Evidence, Relevance and Warrant: In Defence of Voluntarism.”
- Cartwright, N. and Ray, F. (2023). “Objectivity and Intellectual Humility in Scientific Research: They’re Harder Than You Think.”
- Joyce, K. E. and Cartwright, N. (2023) “How Should Evidence Inform Education Policy?”
- Cartwright, N. (2022). “How to Learn about Causes in the Single Case.”
- Cartwright, N. (2021). “Rigour Versus the Need for Evidential Diversity.”
- Joyce, K. E. and Cartwright, N. (2020). “Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice: Predicting What Will Work Locally.”
- Cartwright, N. (2020). “Why Trust Science? Reliability, Particularity and the Tangle of Science.”
- Cartwright, N. (2020). “Middle-Range Theory: Without It What Could Anyone Do? (Lullius Lectures 2018).”
- Cartwright, N. (2019). “What Is Meant by ‘Rigour’ in Evidence-Based Educational Policy and What’s So Good About It?”
- Cartwright, N. (2019). “Commentary: Why Mixed Methods Are Necessary for Evaluating Any Policy.”
- Deaton, A. and Cartwright, N. (2018). “Understanding and Misunderstanding Randomized Controlled Trials.”
- Bradburn. N., Cartwright, N. and Fuller. J. (2017). “A Theory of Measurement.”
- Cartwright, N. (2017). “Causal Powers: Why Humeans Can’t Even Be Instrumentalists.”
- Bhakthavatsalam, S. and Cartwright, N. (2017). “What’s So Special about Empirical Adequacy?.”
See here for a complete list of Nancy’s books and published articles.