RESEARCH

In my philosophical work I seek to illuminate how the fact we are socially situated beings impacts the structures of our thought and action. I pursue three interrelated projects. 

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Firstly, I want to understand the ways in which minds are embedded in a social context. To do so, I zoom in on questions like: How do we have to conceptualize the nature of mental states in order to accommodate the fact that they are subject to social forces such as gender norms? If some motivational states don’t result from conscious deliberation but instead spring from unconscious social influences, how can we know them? And are we responsible for them? While my work in this area is founded on results from psychology and cognitive science, I use the tools of philosophy to contribute to our grasp of the conceptual and ethical aspects of the social mind.​

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​​A second field of interest is the phenomenon of overthinking, What is overthinking? What separates it from healthy thinking? And why does it seems so similar to (certain kinds of) philosophical reflection? As above, my philosophical work in this area stands in close dialogue with researchers in psychiatry and psychotherapy but asks also conceptual question about the nature and normativity of overthinking, I defend the view that overthinking becomes irrational at the exact point it stops to produce new knowledge.

Generally, I am interested in deepening our awareness of mental illness and neurodiversity.

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Lastly, I research political disagreement. I’m exploring how in a polarized world as ours we can disagree with each other respectfully and live our political differences in a democratic framework. My work in this area centrally revolves around how democratic citizens can deal with those who they see as promoting anti-democratic values.