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I'm Martin Böhnert

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I am a philosopher working at the intersections of epistemology, ethics, and science studies, with a curiosity for the unexpected ways in which they converge. Much of my work is shaped by the question of which voices and perspectives are amplified in times of planetary crisis, which remain unheard, and which might open up new possibilities for thought and action. What fascinates me are practices of knowing and the conditions under which understanding takes place – always entangled with claims to validity, social dynamics, and ethical concerns. These questions do not only guide my research; they also shape my teaching and public engagement: I emphasize dialogue, participation, and the sense that knowledge is not simply transmitted but collaboratively created and critically explored. At present, I coordinate interdisciplinary, sustainability-oriented teaching programs at the University of Kassel.

Alongside my publications and my talks, I have for many years enjoyed exploring a more visual side of academia by designing posters, book covers, and web layouts – a creative practice that has grown hand in hand with my scholarly interests.

Martin Böhnert
@unlucky_specialist@hcommons.social

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New article in @TATuP@mastodon.social:
“Whose Future? Epistemic Challenges to the Collective ‘We’ in Long-Term Governance” → doi.org/10.14512/tatup.7205
The article engages with concepts from Science & Technology Studies and epistemology to examine the underlying assumptions of long-term governance.

Research

In my research, I examine the epistemic, linguistic, and cultural conditions of knowledge and knowledge claims. I am particularly interested in constellations in which different perspectives come into contact or exist side by side – often without mutual recognition. Rather than conceiving of knowledge as a neutral entity, I draw on approaches that understand it as situated, relational, and entangled with power. My thinking has been shaped in particular by the work of Ludwik Fleck, Donna Haraway, Sandra Harding, and Bruno Latour.

Research Focus

Epistemologies on a Damaged Planet

I study the conditions and forms of knowledge in the context of planetary crises. My focus lies on questions of epistemic plurality, responsibility, uncertainty, and the role of technoscientific futures. Building on feminist, intersectional, and postcolonial philosophies of science, I explore the possibilities of a situated Epistemology of Care—as an attempt to search for forms of knowledge that take vulnerable contexts seriously without collapsing into arbitrariness. Within the interdisciplinary research group Climate Thinking, I further develop these perspectives in the exchange between theory and practice.

#philosophy of science #epistemology #feminist theory #anthropocean #epistemic plurality #matters-of-care #AI-ethics

Philosophy of Animal Research

I examine the epistemological, ethical, and methodological foundations of animal-related research, especially where scientific approaches to nonhuman cognition are permeated by tacit assumptions: What counts as mind? What qualifies as observation? What as evidence? Taking behavioral research as an example, I analyze these implicit presuppositions—such as the treatment of the research site, method, and the concept of the subject—and further develop the concept of methodological signature as a tool for making such research practices critically readable. In interdisciplinary contexts such as the network Animal – Human – Society and the research focus Integrative Biophilosophy, I work toward a philosophy of animal research that remains attentive to its epistemic premises and thereby open to reflection, responsibility, and revision.

#philosophy of science #animal ethics #cognitive ethology #methodology #philosophy of mind #anthropology #epistemology #epistemic practice

Configurations of Knowledge between Argument and Narrative

I investigate how the formation of opinion in the public sphere is not only mediated but constituted in the first place — between argument and narrative, between analytical precision and cultural resonance. At the center are plausibility as a pattern of reasoning and thought and the narrative forms through which scientific claims become connectable, intelligible, or normatively charged. I am particularly interested in those border zones where science communication encounters popular culture, media narratives, or documentary formats, as sites where epistemic orders are newly structured or shifted.

#science communication #plausibility #narratives #sociology of knowledge #popular culture #epistemic practices #narrative epistemology #public

Publications

The following selection of publications is thematically aligned with my areas of research. A complete list is available here as a PDF.

Epistemologies on a Damaged Planet

Böhnert, M. (2025). Whose future?: Epistemic challenges to the collective ‘we’ in long-term governance. TATuP – Journal for Technology Assessment in Theory and Practice, 34(2), 15–20 [peer-reviewed], doi:10.14512/tatup.7205.

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Böhnert, M., Hornisch, M., & Rink, A. (eds.). (2025). Apokalypse und Apathie: Handlungs(un)fähigkeiten in der Klimakrise (Apocalypse and Apathy: (In)capacities for Action in the Climate Crisis). transcript [peer-reviewed]. (Open Access)

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Böhnert, M. (2022). The science is clear: Climate action now! Versuch einer Neubeurteilung des Verhältnisses von Natur und Kultur in der Klimakrise (The science is clear: Climate action now! Attempt at a Reassessment of the Relationship between Nature and Culture in the Climate Crisis). Salzburger Jahrbuch für Philosophie, 67, 27–50.

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Böhm, F., Böhnert, M., Drube, J., Hornisch, M., Lang, S., Rink, A., Sezi, M., Sinning, J., & Sternath, V.-N. (eds.). (since 2025). Climates – Cultures – Contexts (book series). transcript. (Open Access)

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Böhnert, M., & Reszke, P. (2022). Which facts to trust in the debate on climate change? On knowledge and plausibility in times of crisis. In P. Hohaus (Hrsg.), Science communication in times of crises (S. 15–40), John Benjamins [peer-reviewed].

Philosophy of Animal Research

Böhm, F., & Böhnert, M. (2023). Wie kommen Tierlaute in einen Text? Philosophisch-linguistische Untersuchungen zu Inskription und epistemischer Transkription in der empirischen Tierforschung (How Do Animal Sounds Get into a Text? Philosophical-linguistic Investigations on Inscription and Epistemic Transcription in Empirical Animal Research). Zeitschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Linguistik, 53(2), 259–286 [peer-reviewed]. (Open Access)

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Böhnert, M., & Köchy, K. (2021). Grundzüge einer Philosophie der Tierforschung (Fundamentals of a philosophy of animal research). TierEthik, 13(2), 7–38. (Open Access)

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Böhnert, M. (2020). Methodologische Signaturen: Ein philosophischer Versuch zur Systematisierung der empirischen Erforschung des Geistes von Tieren (Methodological Signatures: A Philosophical Attempt at Systematizing Empirical Research on Animal Minds). Mentis. (Review)

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Böhnert, M., & Hilbert, C. (2018). “Other minds than ours”: A controversial discussion on the limits and possibilities of comparative psychology in light of C. Lloyd Morgan’s work. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 40(44), 1–28 [peer reviewed], doi:10.1007/s40656-018-0211-4.

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Böhnert, M., Köchy, K., & Wunsch, M. (Eds.). (2016–2018). Philosophie der Tierforschung (Philosophy of Animal Research) (3 volumes). Karl Alber.

Configurations of Knowledge between Argument and Narrative

Böhnert, M., & Reszke, P. (2022). Das Wissen der anderen: Epistemische Systeme, Verstehensumgebungen und Plausibilität als analytische Werkzeuge des Verstehens. [The Knowledge of Others: Epistemic Systems, Settings of Understanding, and Plausibility as Analytical Tools of Understanding]. Aptum, 3, 131–148 [peer-reviewed].

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Böhnert, M., & Reszke, P. (2019). Nicht-triviale Trivialitäten: Popkulturelle Sekundärwelten als Gedankenexperimente und ihr erkenntnistheoretischer Nutzen.[Non-Trivial Trivialities: Pop-Cultural Secondary Worlds as Thought Experiments and Their Epistemological Use]. In M. Böhnert & P. Reszke (Eds.), Vom Binge Watching zum Binge Thinking: Untersuchungen im Wechselspiel zwischen Wissenschaften und Popkultur (pp. 11–50), transcript.

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Böhnert, M. (2018). Three guys and a girl in space: Genderkonstruktion in den Sci-Fi Animes Captain Future, Saber Rider und Cowboy Bebop [Three Guys and a Girl in Space: Gender Construction in the Sci-Fi Animes Captain Future, Saber Rider, and Cowboy Bebop]. In U. Milevski, P. Reszke, & F. Woitkowski (Eds.), Gender und Genre: Populäre Serialität zwischen kritischer Rezeption und geschlechtertheoretischer Reflexion (pp. 317–335), Königshausen & Neumann. [peer reviewed]

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Böhnert, M., & Reszke, P. (2015). Linguistisch-philosophische Untersuchungen zu Plausibilität: über kommunikative Grundmuster bei der Entstehung von wissenschaftlichen Tatsachen [Linguistic-Philosophical Investigations of Plausibility: On Communicative Patterns in the Formation of Scientific Facts]. In J. Engelschalt & A. Maibaum (Eds.), Auf der Suche nach den Tatsachen: Proceedings der 1. Tagung des Nachwuchsnetzwerks "INSIST", 22.-23. Oktober 2014, Berlin (pp. 40–67). SSOAR [peer reviewed]. (Open Access)

Talks

In my talks, I address epistemological, interdisciplinary, and socially relevant questions of knowledge, often situated in the tension between science communication, epistemic responsibility, and methodological boundary issues. A selection of recent contributions:

04.06.2025

Towards an Epistemology of Care in the Age of Digital Knowledge Production,
Knowledge in the Age of Digital Re-/Production: Responsible Epistemologies?, conference organized by the European University of Technology (EUt+) and the Schader Foundation.

TU Darmstadt

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14.05.2025

Epistemische Transkriptionen: Wie bedeutungsgenerierende Praktiken tierliches Verhalten zum wissenschaftlichen Gegenstand der Tierforschung machen (Epistemic Transcriptions: How Meaning-Generating Practices Turn Animal Behavior into a Scientific Object of Animal Research), Philosophical Colloquium, organized by the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Rostock.

University of Rostock

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27.11.2024

Is There an Ethics of Knowledge? Understanding Epistemic Responsibilities in Scientific Knowledge Production, Lecture Series of the DFG Research Training Group multiscale clocks.

University of Kassel

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05.09.2024

Have fun, and make an impact! Brettspiele als diskursives Medium der klimabezogenen Wissensvermittlung (Have fun, and make an impact! Board Games as a Discursive Medium for Climate-Related Knowledge Communication) (together with Felix Böhm), workshop as part of the conference Fantastic Climates (15th Annual Conference of the German Society for Fantasy Research).

University of Kassel

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02.07.2023

Wissen zwischen Transfer und Dialog – Über Dynamiken des Vertrauens und der Plausibilität (Knowledge Between Transfer and Dialogue – On Dynamics of Trust and Plausibility) (together with Paul Reszke), Knowledge Transfer in Crisis? Soziologische Perspektiven auf Herausforderungen und Gelingensbedingungen von Wissenschaftskommunikation zu Nachhaltigkeitsproblemen, conference organized by the DGS Working Group Sociology of Sustainability.

University of Hamburg

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14.09.2022

Sustainable Thinking – Thinking Sustainable: Stories of the Past, Thoughts about the Present, Languages for the Future (together with Tamara Bodden, Silvie Lang, Paul Reszke, Annika Rink & Jan Sinning), Challenges of Sustainability Research, panel at the international kick-off conference of the Kassel Institute for Sustainability.

University of Kassel

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01.07.2022

Fakten in der Krise – Die Dynamik zwischen Vertrauen, Wissen und Plausibilität am Beispiel des Klimawandeldiskurses (Facts in Crisis – The Dynamics Between Trust, Knowledge and Plausibility Using the Example of Climate Change Discourse) (together with Paul Reszke), Culturally Constructive, international conference of the network KULI – Kulturbezogene und kulturanalytische Linguistik.

Université Genève (Switzerland)

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06.11.2019

Uses of Anecdote in Nineteenth Century Comparative Psychology (together with Robert Meunier), Anecdotes: Little Narratives that Carry Bigger Weight, international workshop of the Narrative Science Project led by Mary S. Morgan.

LSE – London School of Economics (England)

Teaching

I understand academic teaching as a situated and cooperative process of teaching and learning. In the introductory phase of study, I offer focused courses on classical positions and questions—serving as an entry point into philosophical thinking and methodological practice. In advanced seminars, I work with students on research-oriented projects in which existing knowledge is applied to new problem areas and translated into concrete contexts. This also includes the realization of publicly visible formats such as Wikipedia articles, poster exhibitions, or podcasts. The foundation is a didactic approach that draws on concepts such as research-based learning (students’ independent co-design of a research process aimed at generating insights of wider relevance) and makes science tangible as a socially significant practice.

Project-Oriented & Research-Based Teaching

Selection (alphabetical, including student project work)

Climate Thinking – Forms of Knowledge in Climate Change Discourse

Student contributions to the Living Handbook Climate Thinking.

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Donna Haraway: Staying with the Trouble

Intensive reading groups led by students and a final exhibition of philosophical-artistic works.

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Feminist Epistemology

Collaborative development and creation of a new Wikipedia entry.

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Philosophy & Linguistics vs. Pop Culture

Interdisciplinary seminar with poster exhibition and a joint publication featuring student contributions.

(regularly between 2016 and 2019)

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Philosophy and Performance

Public presentation of performative engagements with philosophical texts and questions.

(regularly between 2012 and 2018)

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Society, Environment and the Anthropocene

University-wide poster exhibition on interdisciplinary perspectives.

(regularly since 2024)

Introductory Courses & Classics of Philosophy

Selection (alphabetical, in varying formats regularly since 2012)

Bruno Latour: An Introduction to ANT, STS and Science Studies

Overview of central conceptual figures in Latour’s work.

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Animal Minds: Methodological, Epistemological and Ontological Challenges of Animal Research

Introduction to animal philosophy and the philosophy of animal minds.

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John Searle: Speech Acts, Intentionality & Social Reality

Introduction to Searle’s philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and social ontology.

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Ludwik Fleck: Thought Styles and Scientific Facts

Introduction to a socio-epistemological perspective on science.

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Philosophy of Science – Critical Perspectives on Knowledge

Introduction to key positions in the philosophy of science.

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Plato: Republic

Introduction to central concepts of Plato’s political philosophy.

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Rationalism and Empiricism

Reading seminar on key questions of early modern epistemology.

Public Dialogue & Science Communication

How can topics such as the climate crisis, sustainability, or the Anthropocene be addressed in ways that allow different perspectives to be heard? I regularly take part in public conversations, interviews, and discussion formats that make scientific perspectives on socially relevant questions accessible and bring together diverse actors. My interest lies in dialogical forms of science communication that do not merely convey knowledge but also open up new spaces of understanding. What follows is a selection of contributions to various formats of science communication and public dialogue.

Talks & Exhibitions

10.07.2024, Museum of Sepulchral Culture, Kassel

Survival – A Roundtable on Living, Surviving, and Coexistence in the Anthropocene

Public panel discussion with representatives from philosophy, literary studies, and art.

#local #public #interdisciplinary #moderation #epistemology on a damaged planet

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10.07.2024, Uni:Lokal, Kassel

Other People’s Knowledge as a Democratic Challenge

Public workshop as part of the Democracy Week at the University of Kassel.

#local #public #interdisciplinary #workshop #epistemology on a damaged planet

17.05.2024, Natural History Museum Ottoneum, Kassel

Nature Breathes in Everything – Perspectives on Cultural Change in the Nature Crisis

Participation in a panel discussion as part of a series of events bridging art and the sciences.

#local #public #interdisciplinary #science-art-dialog #epistemology on a damaged planet

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20.07 – 20.08.2022, Kassel

Knowledge Repository – 100 Ideas for the World of Tomorrow

Participation in the interactive exhibition accompanying documenta fifteen.

#local #public #exhibition #iag climate thinking

Interviews and Media Contributions

19.05.2024, hr2 Kultur

The Animal as the Other

Interview contribution in the feature by Doris Renck

#national #public-broadcast #interview #philosophy-of-animal-research

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01.04.2021, Deutschlandfunk Kultur

Definitive Answers in Science – What Do We Really Know?

Interview contribution in the feature by Florian Felix Weyh

#national #public-broadcast #interview #plausibility #philosophy-of-science

2024, University of Kassel

Climate Thinking – A Transdisciplinary Teaching and Research Project

Interview contribution as part of the Fourth Sustainability Report in research, teaching, and operations

#internal #education-policy #interview #epistemology on a damaged planet

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2022, StadtZeit Kassel, 19(113), pp. 26-27

Concerns about the Future

Interview contribution as part of the Environment & Energy Dossiers

#local #public #interview #care

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30.01.2022, Podcast Analytischer Kaffeeplausch

How Objective is Objectivity?

Guest discussing the topic on the Science Podcast

#national #podcast #popular-science #interview #philosophy-of-science

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Lectures and Impulses

28.06.2025, Haus Viligst, Schwerte

Nature between Facticity and Care

Lecture as part of the Summer Academy of the Protestant Study Program

#local #scholarship holders #study foundation #epistemology #responsibility

16.05.2024, Uni:Lokal, Kassel

Will Humans Become Increasingly Stupid?

Public lecture in response to an audience question as part of the series Kassel will’s Wissen, organized by the Hessisch-Niedersächsische Allgemeine and the University of Kassel

#local #audiencequestions #public #epistemology #responsibility

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2022, StadtZeit Kassel, 19(113), pp. 26-27

Concerns About the Future

Interview contribution as part of the Environmental & Energy Dossier

#local #public #interview #care

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16.05.2023, Gießhaus, Kassel

The Question of the Uniqueness of Human Consciousness

Public lecture in response to an audience question as part of the series Kassel will's Wissen, organized by the Hessisch-Niedersächsische Allgemeine and the University of Kassel

#local #audiencequestions #public #epistemology #philosophy of mind

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14.10.2022, Service-Point-Kassel, Kassel

Thinking Sustainability – Think Sustainably

Public lecture as part of the thematic week Simply Sustainable

#local #public #dialog #epistemology on a damaged planet

Visuals & Illustration

Visual work has increasingly become part of my academic practice, serving as a means of making content perceptible, accessible, and atmospherically effective. Without formal training but with many years of practical experience, I create posters, book covers, academic websites, and graphic contributions to research projects. What began as a personal interest has gradually evolved into an independent mode of expression within my scholarly work.

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