Metaphysical Documentary Grants
Metaphysics is a speculative branch of philosophy that studies the nature of reality beyond the physical or material world. Two nonprofit organizations, the Ammonius Foundation and the American Philosophical Society, fund social scientists who research metaphysical topics and document their findings in scholarly journals. Grants and prizes are awarded to those who produce seminal scholarly research, backed up by solid documentary evidence in the literature and/or in the field.
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Foundational Research Grant
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The Ammonius Foundation, an organization that supports traditional metaphysics and philosophical theology, funds research on key themes in metaphysics through its Foundational Research Grant program. The organization awards one grant annually to support a proposal of particular interest to the foundation, submitted by an "established scholar." There is no open application process since both the subject matter and the award recipients are chosen by the foundation. Each awarded project is expected to produce a significant publication on the broad field of systematic metaphysics. The 2010 Foundational Research Grant was awarded to J.A. Cover, professor of philosophy at Purdue University, for his work on "Ammonian Monism and Christian Theism." The 2009 award supported the research of Yale philosophy professor George Bealer on the topic of "Metaphysics, Science and Intuition."
Target Investigation Grant Program
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The Ammonius Foundation funds the Target Investigation Grant Program, which is designed to bring a narrow focus to ongoing, fundamental questions. The program targets subject matter and scholars chosen by the foundation, and the stipend amount falls between that of the Foundational Research Grant and the Young Scholars Prize, according to the foundation website. Timothy O'Connor, professor of philosophy at Indiana University, won the first Target Investigation Grant in 2009 for his research project, "Could There Be a Complete Explanation for Everything?"
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Young Scholars Prize for Metaphysics
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The Ammonius Foundation offers an essay competition for young scholars within 10 years of a doctorate or who are currently in graduate school. The annual winner receives an $8,000 cash award and publication of the winning essay published in "Oxford Studies in Metaphysics." The 2011 essay winner was Shamik Dasgupta of Princeton University for his essay, "Absolutism vs. Comparativism About Quantity." In 2010, Rachel Briggs of the University of Sydney and Graeme A. Forbes of Sheffield University won the prize for their essay, "The Real Truth About the Unreal Future."
Franklin Research Grants
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Franklin Research Grants, awarded by the American Philosophical Society, are small grants that support noncommercial research in "all areas of knowledge" that results in publication. The funds help with fieldwork costs, research-related travel, research materials such as copies, and laboratory research. In 2010-2011, 62 scholars collectively received $330,000 in Franklin Research Grant monies. Examples of winning research proposals include "The Phenomenology of Freedom," by Uriah Kriegel of the University of Arizona, and "Indian and African Slavery in Colonial New England," by Linford Fisher of Brown University.
Philips Fund for Native American Research
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The American Philosophical Society also has the Philips Fund, a grant program for research in Native American linguistics and ethnohistory. The one-year grant support, typically between $2,500 and $3,500, may be used for consultant fees, and the cost of research tapes, films and travel. Younger scholars who have a doctorate are given funding priority. Graduate students may also apply, submitting thesis projects. Grantees are required to provide the society's library with any grant-funded documentation, such as video, audio tapes, transcription and the like.
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