I am a philosopher and currently a Moritz Schlick postdoc at the University of Vienna (and part of the Knowledge in Crisis FWF cluster). Before that I was employed in the project The Structure of Fundamentality (funded by the German Research Foundation DFG, P.I. Benjamin Schnieder). Even earlier I have taught at the University of Hamburg, where I obtained my PhD in 2020. I work mainly in metaphysics and on adjacent topics in philosophy of science, mind, and metaethics. In my PhD thesis and a series of recent papers I have investigated the nature, applications, and epistemology of a novel type of explanation I call empty-base explanation, which is closely related to the notions of fundamentality and ultimate explanation, as well as Kit Fine’s notion of zero-grounding. An overarching aim of this project was to establish empty-base explanation as a legitimate and fruitful addition to the philosopher’s toolbox. I am currently focusing on the methodology and epistemology of metaphysics, where I am investigating questions like "How can we know what (metaphysically) explains what?" "How can we find out, what the essence and true nature of things is?", and "What is the value of pursuing metaphysics formulated in terms of ground, essence, and fundamentality?

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