Applied Philosophy

Applied philosophy, spring 2026

Part 1. Environmental virtue ethics (history of philosophy, Leo Catana)

In this first part of the course on applied philosophy, we look at modern environmental virtue ethics (EVE), which draws extensively on the virtue ethics formulated by Aristotle. Virtue ethics has its roots in Greek antiquity in various philosophical movements, including the one initiated by Aristotle. Over the last decades, the Aristotelian version has been revived by modern ethicists like McIntyre, Annas, Hursthouse and others. Hence, (Aristotelian) virtue ethics is now a well-established position in normative ethics along with consequentialism and deontology. The key element in virtue ethics is the claim that moral character is central to any ethical theory, and it is focused on motivations that influence the choices of ordinary human beings on a daily level. Over the two last decades a new branch of virtue ethics has emerged, namely environmental virtue ethics. It focuses on motivation and character formation, but it takes a special interest in those motivations and character traits that concern our relationship to nature.

Part 2. Understanding the Politization of the Lifeworld (Practical Philosophy, Line Ryberg Ingerslev)

Loneliness, ressentiment, lack of recognition, social alienation and apathy, and misuses of collective memory can all be understood as relational consequences of what we might call the politization of the lifeworld. Part of this politization involves a change in the experience of what constitutes meaningful relations in the social world. In this part of the course, we will investigate aspects of social pathologies while working out ways to understand the ethical and existential aspects of current societal problems. Applied practical philosophy in this context offers a framework as well as a set of tools for addressing and understanding the acute pathologies of our social world.

Part 3. Medical humanities (phenomenology, Dan Zahavi)

The focus of the third part of the course will be on philosophy of healthcare and the medical humanities. If one is to offer care that will be perceived as helpful and meaningful by the patient and increase compliance, it is important – especially in the case of more chronic illnesses – to not simply focus on isolated symptoms. Genuinely patient-centered care requires an understanding of how the patient is experiencing and coping with the situation. What does it mean to live with schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, or mastectomy? How does it affect the self-, world-, and other-experience of the patient? Can ideas from phenomenology make a difference? After a general discussion of what it means to apply phenomenology, we will look at phenomenological concepts such as lived experience, empathy, embodiment and lifeworld, and read recent texts that discuss how such notions can productively be used in clinical research and practice (by nurses, physicians and psychiatrists).