I am a philosopher of science, with a specialisation in general epistemology of science, philosophy of psychiatry and psychotherapy, and (social) epistemology. Currently, I am a Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholar at the University of Cambridge, Christ’s College, where I work on my PhD in History and Philosophy of Science under the supervision of Prof. Anna Alexandrova and Prof. Hasok Chang.
My core interest at the moment lies in the Philosophy of Psychotherapy. I explore the role of theory for psychotherapy, the differential effectiveness and outcomes of different schools, and argue for a pluralism of therapeutic methods. Within general philosophy of science, I have studied objectivity in science and beyond, and narratives in science. In epistemology, I am interested in a richer landscape than just propositional attitudes, and consider narratives to be important means of representing and communicating information. I have developed what I call a teaching model of the norms of assertion, and applied that machinery to the epistemology of testimony. In earlier works, I studied epistemic authority and expertise, epistemic autonomy, and the rationality as well as the concept of hope.
I hold a Master (M.A.) in Logic and Philosophy of Science from the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (thesis supervisor: Prof. Stephan Hartmann, advisor: Dr. David Colaco), LMU Munich, and a Master (M.phil.) as well as a Bachelor (B.phil.) in Philosophy from the University of of Innsbruck (supervisors: Prof. Christoph Jäger, Prof. Katherine Dormandy). I have spent two summers at Harvard University, being mentored by Prof. Catherine Z. Elgin. I have held teaching and research assistant positions in Berlin (Humboldt University), Munich (LMU) and Innsbruck, and given introductory courses on Philosophy of Science at LMU. Apart from philosophy, I have completed the first part of Austria’s official psychotherapy training, called Propädeutikum, in Vienna (part of which was clinical work with patients with psychosomatic disorders at the University Hospital of Psychiatry II, Innsbruck, Austria), and am currently enrolled in the second part (Fachspezifikum), specialising in Concentrative Movement Therapy (KBT or CMT), a school of psychotherapy with psychoanalytic and developmental psychological underpinnings that includes the body in psychotherapeutic work.
Recent Talks
- Is there a special problem of theory in psychotherapy? (Peer-reviewed)
British Society for the Philosophy of Science Annual Conference 2025, University of Glasgow, July 2025 - Is there a special problem of theory in psychotherapy? (Peer-reviewed)
12th International Philosophy of Medicine Roundtable, King’s College London, June 2025 - From Speaker-Centred to Hearer-Centred Norms of Assertion
The Social Epistemology of Science Workshop, University of Cambridge, June 2025 - Warrant for Use, Entanglement, and Understanding
Book Symposium on Thomas Grundmann’s “Expert Authority and the Limits of Critical Thinking” (forthcoming with OUP), University of Innsbruck, October 2024 - All that Glitters is not Gold: (Pseudo)-Scientific Outcomes and Practices
Gatekeeping in Science Conference, University of Innsbruck, April 2024 - Grounding Trust: A Functional Approach to (Scientific) Objectivity
Philosophy of Science Workshop, University of Cambridge, September 2023 - Objectivity, Trust, and the Epistemic Community
Graduate Workshop, University of Innsbruck, July 2023 - Epistemic Iteration in the Classification of Psychiatric Disorders
MCMP Philosophy of Science PhD Colloquium, LMU Munich, July 2023 - Epistemic Autonomy
Forschungsseminar, University of Innsbruck, February 2022 - On the Rationality of Hope
Forschungsseminar, University of Innsbruck, March 2021 - A Realist Account of Epistemic Authority
Forschungsseminar, University of Innsbruck, December 2020
Organisation of Symposia
- Symposium “Philosophy of Psychotherapy (Research)” at BSPS Conference 2025 in Glasgow, with speakers Craig French and Edward Harcourt
- Conference “How Should We Reason? Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives”, co-organised with Borut Trpin and Stephan Hartmann, MCMP, LMU Munich, October 2023
- Book Symposium on Catherine Z. Elgin’s “Epistemic Ecology”, co-organised with Christoph Jäger, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, March 2023
Courses Taught
University of Cambridge:
- HPS Part II Paper 3: Modern Medicine and Life Sciences
- Medicine, Race and Ethnicity
- HPS Part II Paper 4: Philosophy and Scientific Practice
- Philosophy of the Biomedical Sciences: Concepts and Evidence
- Philosophy of Psychiatry
- HPS Part II Paper 6: Ethics and Politics of Science
- Sociology of Science
- Ethical Issues in Psychiatry
- Philosophy: Philosophy of Science
LMU Munich:
- Philosophy of Science and Epistemology
