Philosophy helps us understand the big questions, challenge our assumptions, and take a stand on the principles that shape society. Therefore, it is a strengthening of both research and the public debate that the School of Culture and Society at Aarhus University is now appointing four new professors of philosophy.

Academic breadth strengthens philosophyThe four new professors represent a broad academic range, both methodologically and thematically, which will strengthen and nuance philosophy as a field of research. Head of Department Asbjørn Steglich-Petersen emphasizes that this diversity is crucial for the development of the profession:

"The four new professorships are first and foremost a great recognition of the department's strong philosophical academic environment. All four professors have developed ambitious plans for research and teaching, which the professorships can help to realise. Together, the professors represent a wide range of academic disciplines, both in terms of method and focus area, which means that we can also continue to ensure a solid foundation throughout the breadth of the subject.

The role of philosophy in societyPhilosophy plays a central role in today's social debates, from ethics in artificial intelligence to climate philosophy and democratic education. According to Asbjørn Steglich-Petersen, the new professorships will not only contribute with new research, but also strengthen the relevance of philosophy across disciplines and in the general public:

"We live in a time of great upheavals and changes, not least technological ones, which challenge not only our way of life, but also our self-understanding. Philosophy can help us navigate the new reality, and this is a task to which the new professors will contribute.

Meet the new professors

Anke Büter

Which area will you be employed to promote in your professorship?
- I will be researching philosophy of science with a special focus on the philosophy of medicine and psychiatry. Going forward, I aim to integrate my interests in feminist philosophy of science and philosophy of psychiatry, for example, my work will explore issues of epistemic injustice in health care, our understanding of rationality and mental health, gendered diagnostic criteria for mental disorders, and the conditions necessary for public trust in science and medicine.

In what way is it relevant to the surrounding society?
"A central theme in my research is how social inequality and exclusion can distort scientific knowledge by leading to ignorance and biased outcomes. The same applies to clinical medicine and psychiatry, where social prejudice and stigma can result in erroneous diagnostic reasoning and suboptimal clinical outcomes. Examining the intersections of social and epistemic bias can help develop targeted strategies to reduce these distortions and improve both scientific and medical practice.

How did you come to work with your research area?
"I have long been interested in how knowledge is shaped by its social context. My focus on gender bias in science arose both from a concern for its epistemic implications as well as for the political inequalities it reflects and reinforces.

Contact
Anke Büter, Professor
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mail: abueter@cas.au.dk
Phone:+45 8716 2526

Guido Kreis

Which area will you be employed to promote in your professorship?
-My main expertise is in the history of philosophy, especially Kant and German idealism, neo-Kantianism and critical theory. I also work on aesthetics, philosophy of religion, and classical Chinese philosophy A main concern of my current research is the ways in which experiencing art can help us, both emotionally and cognitively, to better understand who we are and who we want to be, both as individuals and as a society.

In what way is it relevant to the surrounding society?
-I work within the tradition of critical theory of society. My current research hypothesis is that art has the power to counteract certain injustices committed against people with vulnerable identities. An example of this is street art in black communities and its contribution to black people's self-understanding, which ultimately led to the Black Lives Matter movement. I am interested in the informal, often non-conceptual ways in which art helps us understand who we are and reveals that some of us are treated unfairly in our society.

How did you come to work with your research area?
-As a teenager, I developed an obsession with avant-garde music, the kind of noise that my parents and teachers warned me about. A little later, I stumbled upon a book by Adorno called "Philosophy of New Music" and bought it. I didn't understand a single sentence at the time, but it marked the beginning of a journey that is still ongoing (both in terms of music and philosophy). I am convinced that Adorno is right: a good piece of music, and the way everything fits together in it, is a model for how a just society should be organized.

Contact
Guido Kreis, Professor
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mail: guido.kreis@cas.au.dk
Phone: + 45 8716 2136

Jens Christian Bjerring

Which area will you be employed to promote in your professorship?
- One of the key areas is my research in artificial intelligence. I have just had a long-term grant from the Carlsberg Foundation on artificial intelligence, and my expectation and hope is to be able to further strengthen the department's work in AI. My particular angle is, very generally, about how AI affects human decision-making, ethics and self-understanding – both positively and negatively.

In what way is it relevant to the surrounding society?
- Given the speed at which AI is being implemented in our society, it is reasonably clear why AI is an important area of research. As we know, AI is already in the process of transforming our ways of thinking, studying, and researching, and this applies to almost all domains of society. The growing influence of AI has made philosophical discussions about technology and ethics more relevant than ever before, and it is also my clear opinion that more and more people are asking for and interested in these perspectives.

How did you come to work with your research area?
- As a philosopher, it is very natural to ask yourself the question: can a machine ever develop true understanding and intelligence? In any case, I've always been fascinated by that question, and some of my favorite thought experiments in philosophy also deal with artificial intelligence, such as Searle's Chinese Room. But it is also clear that the rapid development of AI technology has made me even more interested in the subject. Because suddenly we can pull the philosophical insights out of the world of thought experiments and into reality. Personally, I also find it incredibly rewarding to work in a field where philosophical insights can have direct and practical value for both society and other sciences such as medicine.

Contact
Jens Christian Bjerring, Professor
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mail: filjcb@cas.au.dk
Phone: +45 2728 7044

Thomas Schwarz Wentzer

Which area will you be employed to promote in your professorship?
- My area is partly the history of Western philosophy and partly the modern and contemporary philosophical anthropology. In my research, I want to contribute to a critical understanding of human historicity in light of the Anthropocene debate and the Anthropocene thesis' implications for a similar, i.e. responsible view of humanity. This must be done on the basis of the hermeneutic-phenomenological tradition in philosophy.

In what way is it relevant to the surrounding society?
- The humanities in general and philosophy in particular owe society an up-to-date vocabulary for navigating various crises and changes (the climate, migration, security or health crisis, the AI revolution, etc.). We as researchers and intellectuals must help with conceptual and value orientation, so that we as a society and as citizens can maintain or at least not lose overview. In a somewhat free formulation by Plato: In the end, everything we do at this faculty contributes to the question of how we would like to live our lives.

How did you come to work with your research area?
- I have always been fascinated by the fact that people inevitably have to relate to tradition and history, whether we want to or not. For example, today, because of my German background, I often have to deal with stereotypes that I probably love order and punctuality and so on. It cannot be avoided, because history shapes us. Where I used to use categories from political history or social psychology about 20 years ago, I have now realized that I need to expand my understanding of time, all the way down to what is called 'deep history', in order to really understand what characterizes my life. Even geological time has become a factor in my self-understanding, which makes me revisit the truth of Hegel's formulation: Philosophy is its time, grasped in thought.

Contact
Thomas Schwarz Wentzer, Professor
School of Culture and Society
Aarhus University
Mail: filts@cas.au.dk
Phone: +45 8716 2295