My fields of specialization are general philosophy of science, philosophy of physics, epistemology, 19th and 20th century history of philosophy, and phenomenology. My current research focuses on thought experiments, on scientific realism, on the use of mathematical models, on the nature of scientific understanding and on related issues such as rationality or the role of intuitions. Although my methodological approach to these issues is largely phenomenological, I am not wedded to any particular meta-philosophical framework: Science is a multi-faceted phenomenon, and so are the methods required to analyze it. What I believe to be crucial, however, is that any serious understanding of science will depend on a thorough understanding of the fundamental structures of human subjectivity.
International Experience/Research Project
Before I took up my position as Professor of Philosophy of Science at Linköping University in 2019, I have been Assistant Professor at the Department for Philosophy at the University of Graz (2013-2019), Fulbright Visiting Scholar and Lecturer at Stanford University (2017), and Erwin-Schroedinger-Research Fellow at the Department for Philosophy at the University of Toronto (2010-2013). I obtained my PhD degree from the University of Graz in 2008. I am also currently Recurring Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and P.I. of the four-year research project “Intentionality and Symbolic Construction. The Phenomenological Background of Hermann Weyl’s Philosophy of Physics". The project, which is being carried out by me and Philipp Berghofer (University of Graz, Austria), is financed by the Austrian Science Fund (project number: P31758).
Teaching
My teaching experience spans a wide range of courses and topics, including large introductory lectures for more than 300 students, upper-level writing courses, undergraduate courses and interdisciplinary research seminars. Most of my courses are on philosophy of science, epistemology and phenomenology. But I have also taught courses on applied ethics. Between 2013 and 2019 I have been permanent lecturer at the Center for History of Science at the University of Graz, Austria.
Further information about me and my work can be found on my personal webpage:
http://www.haraldwiltsche.com
