Current Projects
Possible Life: The Philosophical Significance of Extending Biology (LIFEMODE)
ERC Consolidator Grant (PI)
June 2019--present
We are a group of philosophers of science studying cutting-edge research in the life sciences: synthetic biology, astrobiology, genetic engineering, and more. The project aims to address the philosophical implications of current research on life – not as we know it, but as it could be. The main question motivating the project is: How is biology being extended beyond life on Earth - and what is the philosophical significance of this? We approach this question through a two-pronged approach that puts scientific practice in dialogue with the philosophy of science.
Grant Agreement No. 818772
http://www.possiblelife.eu/project
Pushing the Boundaries: Agency, Evolution, and the Dynamic Emergence of Expanding Possibilities
John Templeton Foundation Grant (co-PI with Johannes Jäger)
Dec 2023--present
In this project, we seek to push the boundaries of what we can model and predict in systems that are (or that contain) organismic agents. Such systems not only include populations of evolving organisms, but also higher-level ecosystems, societies, and economies.
https://www.expandingpossibilities.org/overview.html
Philosophy as Conceptual Engagement: The Concepts we Have and the Concepts we Want (PACE)
FWF doc.funds project at the University of Vienna (co-lead)
October 2023--September 2027
FWF doc.funds project at the University of Vienna (co-lead)
October 2023--September 2027
https://pace.phl.univie.ac.at/pace-the-project/
Cluster of Excellence: Knowledge in Crisis
FWF Cluster of Excellence (key researcher)
October 2023--September 2028
Consortium: CEU (Lead), University of Graz, University of Salzburg, University of Vienna
https://philosophy.ceu.edu/knowledge-crisis