Thought Experiments in Practical Philosophy (2024 – 2027)
This project aims to develop an extensive theory of the use of thought experiments in Practical Philosophy. The project is supportet by the DFG.
This project aims to develop an extensive theory of the use of thought experiments in Practical Philosophy. The project is supportet by the DFG.
Thought experiments have been used in almost all epochs and in almost all areas of philosophy as well as in the sciences. It was not until the end of the 19th century, however, that philosophers began inquiring into the nature and function of thought experiments and even not until 1986 that the first philosophy conference on thought experiments led to the first book-length philosophical investigations. Until then, with very few exceptions, the discussion was focused on thought experiments in the sciences.
The first book-length treatment of thought experiments in philosophy appeared in 1996, with the first books on the topic in German published in the 2000s only. It is remarkable that all of these pioneering works were almost exclusively focused on thought experiments in the sciences and in theoretical philosophy. Ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of law, and other areas of practical philosophy rarely feature in these publications.
In contrast to thought experiments in theoretical philosophy, the current debate on thought experiments in practical philosophy is very much piecemeal in nature, focusing on isolated aspects without attempting a broader systematization, although this would be necessary in order to understand thought experiments as a methodological tool that is central to many areas of practical philosophy. For instance, some of the most influential contemporary ethicists working in the analytic tradition primarily use a methodology that relies heavily on short, vignette-style thought experiments, often in the form of “moral emergencies”, scenarios that feature urgent and forced life and death choices with fixed outcomes.
The lack of systematic scholarship on thought experiments in practical philosophy would only be justified if there were a theory of thought experiments that applies to their use in the sciences, in theoretical philosophy, and in practical philosophy. However, there are reasons to be skeptical about such an all-encompassing theory. The project “Thought Experiments in Practical Philosophy” is an attempt to systematize and theorize the uses of thought experiments in practical philosophy.