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 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. If you are interested in theoretical philosophy, please do so check out our 'research seminar theoretical philosophy'.
Regular events
- Research Seminar
Research Seminar Theoretical Philosophy
The main forum of our research group is the “Research Seminar Theoretical Philosophy”, where we discuss papers contributed by participants or invited guests. For details and the current schedule click here.
- 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 Bucharest, the University of Helsinki, the University of Bologna, Uppsala 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.
People
Locals
Prof. Christian Nimtz
Chair of Theoretical Philosophy
- Works on topics that fall within intersections of fields such as philosophy of language, epistemology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics and metaphilosophy.
- externalism in semantics, in particular regarding natural kind predicates and paradigm terms in general.
- two-dimensional semantics
- modal epistemology and metaphysical modality
- methods of philosophical research, with a focus on armchair based rather than experimental methods.
Dr. Steffen Koch
Post-doc researcher
Main research interests:
- Metaphilosophy
- Philosophy of language
- Experimental philosophy
Associates
Ali Yasar, M.A.
Humboldt-University of Berlin
Berlin School of Mind and Brain
Doctoral Student
e-mail website
works on topics in metaphysics and epistemology of mind, meta-philosophy, philosophy of language, and meta-ethics.
Fabian Hundertmark, M.A.
Bielefeld University
Postdoc
e-mail website
works on topics in the philosophy of mind
Romy Jaster, Dr.
(HU Berlin)
Postdoc
e-mail website
works on topics in metaphysics, the philosophy of language and epistemology
Wolfgang Schwarz, Dr.
(Edinburgh)
Lecturer
e-mail website
works on topics in epistemology, the philosophy of language, metaphysics, and logic.
Insa Lawler, Dr.
(UNC Greensboro)
Assistant Professor
e-mail website
works on topics in epistemology, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of language works on topics in the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind
Research
Our flagship projects
There are two flagship-projects related to our research group:
The one is the project "Advancing Teleosemantics" funded by the German Research Council (DFG).
The other is a broader project on two-dimensional semantics and its implications for the semantics of natural languages, rigidity & essence, ethics, and fiction.
| Indicative conditionals | Ph.D. project Christian Nimtz / tba 2019 - |
Marcel Kertels |
| Generalizing Evolutionary Debunking | Ph.D. project Christian Nimtz / tba 2019 - |
Philippe Biermann |
| Tugenderkenntnistheorie | Ph.D. project Christian Nimtz / Gerhard Ernst (Erlangen) 2013 - 2019 |
Steve Kindley |
| Mind and Function - Teleosemantics Beyond Selected Effects | Ph.D. project Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte 2013 - 2018 |
Fabian Hundertmark |
| Knowing why – An investigation of explanatory knowledge | Ph.D. project Raphael van Riel (Duisburg-Essen) / Thomas Spitzley (Duisburg-Essen) / Christian Nimtz 2014 - 2018 |
Insa Lawler |
| Agent’s Abilities and Freedom of the Will | Ph.D. project Barbara Vetter (HU Berlin) / Christian Nimtz 2013 - 2017 |
Romy Jaster |
| Wissen, was möglich ist | Ph.D. project Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte 2011 - 2013 |
Sebastian Müller |
| From Intentional Explanations to Representation - Rethinking Teleosemantics | Postdoc project ('Habilitation') 2010 - 2016 |
Peter Schulte |
| Sentence Understanding and the Rational-Intentional Explanation of Linguistic Communication |
Ph.D. project Brendan Balcerak Jackson / Thomas Grundmann / Christian Nimtz 2010 - 2013 |
Lars Dänzer |
Past Workshops and conferences
- "The Future of Teleosemantics", Universität Bielefeld, 6.-8. September 2018
- "Masterclass in Philosophy 2018 on The Nature of Visual Perception" with Prof. Nico Orlandi (Santa Cruz), Universität Bielefeld, 4.-6. Juli 2018
- "Teleosemantics and the Nature of Functions" Bielefeld September 2017
- "Animal Signals - Function, Evolution and Meaning" Bielefeld May 2017
- "Modal Knowledge" Bielefeld March 2017
- "Teleosemantic Perspectives on Perception", Bielefeld, October 2016
- Workshop with Kit Fine about Truthmaker Semantics, Bielefeld, June 2016
- "Natural Kind Terms - Reference, Rigidity, Essence", Bielefeld, September 2015
- "Bence Nanay's 'Between Perception and Action'", Bielefeld, April 2014.
- "Minds Without Magic?", Bielefeld, September 2013.
- "Categorization & Meaning", at the ZiF (Bielefeld), February 2013.
- "Teleosemantics Today", Erlangen, February 2012.
Latest Master's and Bachelor's theses (only the exceptional ones!)
| Evolutionary Ethics. In Search of a Non-Question-Begging Response to Evolutionary Debunking Arguments. | MA-thesis Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte 2018 |
Philippe Biermann |
| Indicative Conditionals - Against Material and Non-truth-conditional Accounts, For a Possible Worlds Semantics. | MA-thesis Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte 2018 |
Marcel 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 2018 |
Marko Wenzel |
| The Conscious Brain - Does Attention Serve as a Gatekeeper to Consciousness? | MA-thesis Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte 2018 |
Ali Yasar |
| On the Pluralities of Worlds: Characterisation and Object Individuation in Extended Modal Meinongianism |
MA-thesis Christian Nimtz / Marcus Kracht 2015 |
Daniel Milne-Plückebaum |
| A Shotgun Wedding? – Non-Declaratives and Truth-Conditional Semantics | MA-thesis Christian Nimtz / Peter Schulte 2014 |
Insa Lawler |
| Kontrafaktische Kausalitätstheorien | BA-thesis Peter Schulte / Christian Nimtz 2014 |
Stefan Guhe |