Research
My research is primarily concerned with the history of modern philosophy, focusing especially on Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) and the tradition of transcendental philosophy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Methods
A major goal of my research is to combine textually accurate interpretations of historical works with systematic analyses of the underlying philosophical positions. I apply methods and concepts from analytic philosophy of language to the study of historical positions. In turn, the classical texts also serve me as important sources of ideas for developing answers to current questions in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and philosophy of science.
Themes
At the center of my research are issues in philosophy of mind, such as self-consciousness, self-knowledge, and personhood, and issues in epistemology and philosophy of science, such as the perspectivity of human knowledge, systematicity in the sciences, and methodological issues of psychology.
Kant
In my book Kant on Self-Knowledge and Self-Formation, published by Cambridge University Press in 2020, I present a new interpretation of Kant’s theories of self-consciousness, self-knowledge, and the self-formation of human individuals. I have also done work on Kant’s account of empirical psychology.
Perspectivalism and Universalism in Kant and beyond
I am interested in the Kantian idea that all human knowledge is in some sense perspectival and that objectivity for us can only be found within the human perspective. My forthcoming Cambridge Element on Kant’s Ideas of Reason develops a perspectivalist interpretation of Kant’s concept of reason and explores the regulative function of these ideas for the acquisition of knowledge from the human perspective.
The Life of the Mind
In my research project The Life of the Mind, I examine theories of mental development and personal growth in the tradition of transcendental philosophy and of philosophy of life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Philosophers working in this tradition often model the mind on a conception of life and place a particular emphasis on intellectual life (“geistiges Leben”). It is particularly fascinating for me to see how the way of thinking about the relationship between mind and body and about what makes us human persons has fundamentally changed with the rise and success of the natural sciences over the last few centuries, and yet how the philosophical tradition I study remains crucial to a more holistic understanding of human life.
Women Philosophers in the German Tradition
I have a strong interest in the work of women philosophers in the German tradition during the long nineteenth century, and have been particularly fascinated by the works of Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861–1937) and Edith Stein (1891–1942) – especially with regard to their theories of the “life of the mind”.
Research Projects
Perspectivalism and Universalism in Kant and Beyond
This research project aims to explore Kantian perspectivalism. My Cambridge Element on Kant’s Ideas of Reason offers a perspectivalist interpretation of his theory of theoretical cognition.
Women Philosophers in the German Tradition
This project aims to promote the appreciation of women philosophers in the German tradition of the long nineteenth century. It focuses in particular on Lou Andreas-Salomé (1861-1937) and Edith Stein (1891-1942).
The Life of the Mind: A Theory of Personal Development in Modern Thought
This book project aims to present a theory of the mental development of persons. It builds on conceptions of the mind from the Enlightenment and the post-Kantian periods, according to which the mind is understood in terms of a living being endowed with mental powers.
Kant on Self-Knowledge and Self-Formation: The Nature of Inner Experience
This book explores the intricate relationship between becoming an individual person and knowing oneself as such by studying Kant’s distinctive account of psychological personhood.
The First Person. Semantic, Epistemic, and Scientific Perspectives
The research project was carried out at the University of Freiburg from 2016 to 2019, explored contemporary accounts of the first-person perspective and the purportedly special epistemic status of I-thoughts.
Kant’s Philosophy of Psychology
In a series of papers, I studied metaphysical and methodological issues in Kant’s account of empirical psychology.