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

Women Philosophers in the German Tradition

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).