Project Details
Projekt
Good Life and Generativity
Applicants
Dr. Anne Clausen; Professor Dr. Holmer Steinfath
Subject Area
Practical Philosophy
Term
since 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 424883170
The philosophical subproject is devoted to fundamental philosophical reflection on the thematic framework of the FOR. During the second funding period, a dual perspective, informed equally by analytic philosophy and the tradition of phenomenological and existential philosophy, is to be brought to bear on the question whether and in what way human beings depend for their flourishing on projects and relationships that transcend their individual lives and can be taken up by other, future individuals who may continue as well as transform those projects. Part of this inquiry is the question how forward-looking generative relationships may impact the way individuals relate to their own past and to previous generations. The project comprises two equally important sub-studies that will proceed in parallel with each other. (a) The first funding period’s principal investigator, Holmer Steinfath, takes as his starting point the view, prevalent among contemporary philosophers working on these issues, that when it comes to the good life of human individuals, the only relevant considerations are those that concern what happens during their lifetime. From the perspective of systematic ethical theory, he will probe both subjectivist and objectivist conceptions of good life, in order to determine how far they are able to contribute to an understanding of the significance of what happens prior to our birth and especially of what will happen after our death. (b) The post-doc from the first funding period, Anne Clausen, will join Holmer Steinfath in leading the project in the second funding period. Drawing on approaches pioneered by thinkers in the phenomenological and existential tradition, she will develop a philosophical conception of generativity that focuses on the existential significance of birth, the asymmetry inherent to intergenerational relationships, and the temporal self-relation characteristic of generative individuals. As was the case in the first funding period, the subproject will, on the one hand, continue to highlight how the insights it generates can contribute to our understanding of the different ways in which medical innovations interact with and impact the attitudes we take toward our own lifespan and how these attitudes – in turn – influence medical innovations. On the other hand, though, the observations that emerge in the context of the three fields of medical practice the FOR takes as its paradigmatic points of departure will serve to hone, modify, and, where appropriate, revise the insights generated on the basis of philosophical reflection.
DFG Programme
Research Units
