Theoretical Philosophy
Our research group strives to create a lively research environment for all those with projects in theoretical philosophy here at Bielefeld University, or with ties to it.
Theoretical Philosophy in Bielefeld
Our research group strives to create a lively research environment for all those with projects in theoretical philosophy here at Bielefeld University, or with ties to it.
The group is organized around the chair of theoretical philosophy held by Christian Nimtz, but we invite everyone with interest or projects in fields such as the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind, epistemology, theory of action, metaphysics or meta-philosophy.
You find an overview of the people working here, the projects they pursue, the flagship projects we as a group try to push along as well below.
We regularly send updates about the activities of the group via E-Mail. If you are interested in theoretical philosophy, feel free to reach out to cnimtz@uni-bielefeld.de to be added to the mailing list.
Regular Events
- Research Seminar
- MüBiOs
Joint Research Colloquium Münster-Bielefeld-Osnabrück (MüBiOs)
Once a term we meet with people working in theoretical philosophy from Osnabrück (Prof. Kompa) and Münster (Prof. Strobach). For more information click here.
- PhD Network
European Ph.D.-Network in Philosophy
The department of philosophy partakes in the European Ph.D.-Network in Philosophy, a joint scholarly program aimed at promoting the scientific quality and the internationalization of doctoral education, as well as providing doctoral students enhanced career possibilities. The participants of this network are the University of Bergen, the University of Helsinki, the University of Bologna, Uppsala University, Utrecht University and Bielefeld University. The Network is intended to facilitate joint supervision of Ph.D. theses and to foster the integration of the program’s doctoral students into European academic communities. The Network focuses on Theoretical Philosophy, in particular, epistemology, philosophical logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.
If you are interested, feel free to reach out to Christian Nimtz. You can find his E-Mail address here.
Current Events
People
- Prof. Christian Nimtz
Prof. Christian Nimtz
Chair of Theoretical Philosophy
Christian's research mostly concerns issues at the intersection of the philosophy of language on the one hand, and epistemology, metaphysics, or meta-philosophy on the other. Topics of interest to him include predicates and rigidity, Kripkeanism, two-dimensional semantics, modal epistemology, thought experiments and conceptual analysis, metaphysical modality, armchair methods of philosophical enquiry, and conceptual engineering.
- Dr. Steffen Koch
Dr. Steffen Koch
Post-doc researcher
Steffen's areas of specialization are in philosophy of language, metaphilosophy, experimental philosophy, and the philosophy of psychology. He is particularly interested in the relationship between language and thought, as well as the conditions and normative evaluation of meaning change. He is currently working on a book about the effects of linguistic interventions.
- Dr. Andrea Raimondi
Dr. Andrea Raimondi
Post-doc researcher
Andrea's areas of specialisation are the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of fiction. He is working on three partially overlapping projects. The first develops an original version of the Davidsonian theory of quotation. The second offers a new interpretation of the notion of identity in Frege’s Begriffsschrift and explores its implications. The third focuses on fictional discourse, arguing that storytelling is a stipulative speech act.
- Dr. Mark Bowker
Dr. Mark Bowker
Post-doc researcher
Mark is a postdoctoral researcher, currently working on issues at the intersection of Philosophy and Psychology. These include the relation between language, stereotypes, and prejudice, and the interface between philosophical and psychological theories of linguistic interpretation. Other research interests include semantic underdetermination, context-sensitivity, generic generalisations, indexicals, fiction, and experimental philosophy.
- Raphaela Elena Thenen, M.A.
Raphaela Elena Thenen, M.A.
Doctoral researcher
Raphaela's research is concerned with open texture, which is a kind of meaning indeterminacy whereby there is no fact of the matter as to whether a concept applies to a new case. A particular focus is the interplay of this phenomenon with linguistic creativity.
- Marcel Kertels, M.A.
- Sarah Tacke
- Luca Müller
Research
- Our Flagship Projects
Our Flagship Projects
The main project of the research group currently is "Open Texture as a Source of Semantic Creativity" (Project B05 in CRC "Linguistic Creativity in Communication").
The project examines the variant of semantic underdetermination known as "Open Texture".
For more information, please see [LINK].
- International conferences and workshops of the past
International conferences and workshops of the past
Here you can find a list of international conferences and workshops of the past: International-conferences-and-workshops-of-the-past.pdf
Latest Master's and Bachelor's theses (only the exceptional ones!)
- Master's Theses
Evolutionary Ethics. In Search of a Non-Question-Begging Response to Evolutionary Debunking Arguments. MA-thesis
Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte
2018Philippe Biermann Indicative Conditionals - Against Material and Non-truth-conditional Accounts, For a Possible Worlds Semantics. MA-thesis
Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte
2018Marcel Kertels Robert C. Stalnaker’s Two-Dimensionalist Pragmatics: A Discussion of the Diagonalization Strategy as a Solution to Two Puzzles Regarding Kripkean Semantics. MA-thesis
Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte
2018Marko Wenzel The Conscious Brain - Does Attention Serve as a Gatekeeper to Consciousness? MA-thesis
Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte
2018Ali Yasar On the Pluralities of Worlds: Characterisation and Object Individuation
in Extended Modal MeinongianismMA-thesis
Christian Nimtz / Marcus Kracht
2015Daniel Milne-Plückebaum A Shotgun Wedding? – Non-Declaratives and Truth-Conditional Semantics MA-thesis
Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte
2014Insa Lawler - Bachelor's Theses