About me

I am a philosopher of science and what some would call a conceptual theoretical biologist, which means that I work on epistemological, metaphysical, ethical, and conceptual questions that arise in and about the (mainly life) sciences. This is philosophical research, as it encompasses conceptual analysis, and systematic inquiry into the epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical aspects of scientific theories, discoveries, and practices. It is also work in theoretical science, as it does not just involve looking at science from the outside, but also active participation in theory building in the sciences by clarifying theoretical problems and proposing conceptual approaches to resolve them. Accordingly, I publish my work both in philosophy journals and science journals. For details on my current work and academic background, see my academic bio.

 

I am from The Hague on the Dutch North Sea coast. I was educated at Aloysius College and Leiden University, and am an alumnus of L.V.V.S. Augustinus in Leiden. I live in East Lansing, Michigan, and am in Hannover, Germany, several times a year. But: Zoo ik ièts ben, ben ik een Hagenaar.

 

about The hannover philosophy of the life sciences group

At my university I run a small group in the philosophy of the life sciences. It currently consists of the following people:

  • Karim Baraghith (former postdoc in my DFG-ANR project The Explanatory Scope of Generalized Darwinism; now as a PI of his own DFG project Graphs and Networks as Explanatory Tools in Cultural Evolutionary Theory) which is hosted at my chair.
  • Ina Gawel (PhD student funded by DFG GRK 2073).
  • Martin Wasmer (PhD student in the BMBF project The Ontological Status of Genome Edited Organisms).
  • Frank M. Fischer (PhD student, not on project funding). 

Alumni:

  • Hugh Desmond (former postdoc in the Templeton project Agency and Agential Explanation in the Evolutionary Sciences).
  • Martina Valković (former PhD student in the DFG-ANR project The Explanatory Scope of Generalized Darwinism). Dissertation: Cultural Evolution: A Critical View. PhD in Philosophy completed 2024.
  • Stefano Canali (former PhD student funded by DFG GRK 2073). Dissertation: The Role of Data and Technology in Contemporary Biomedicine: Integrating Evidence to Study the Relation Between Disease and the Environment (co-supervised with Sabina Leonelli). PhD in Philosophy completed 2019.
  • Celso Neto (former PhD student, not on project funding). Dissertation: Biological Lineages in Philosophical Focus. Celso started his PhD in Hannover, moved to finish his PhD at the University of Calgary under the supervision of Marc Ereshefsky (and with me as a committee member). PhD in Philosophy completed 2020.
  • Koko Kwisda (PhD student, not on project funding). Dissertation: Ethical and Regulatory Aspects Regarding Xenotransplantation (second supervisor). PhD in Natural Sciences completed 2023.