Ongoing research

The worldviews of transhumanism and the new spirituality (Mikael Stenmark)

The project aims to reconstruct central beliefs and values in transhumanism and the so-called new spirituality. Both are relatively new expressions of secular and religious worldviews, respectively. The project is part of a larger, more long-term inquiry that intends to identify the intellectual content of some religious and secular worldviews that appear to represent, from a philosophical perspective, ‘live options’ in contemporary Western society. The result of the project will be presented in Mikael Stenmark, Contemporary Worldviews (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming).

Religious and secular commitments after the turn to practice (Ulf Zackariasson)

Within the philosophy of religion, as in other disciplines in Religious Studies, there is a growing interest in lived religion and also lived secularity, i.e., how worldviews express themselves in people’s lives. The project examines the consequences of a turn towards lived religiosity and secularity for how we philosophically articulate and respond to questions about rationality, criticism, and different forms of epistemic and existential justification of worldviews.

Within the framework of the interdisciplinary project “The artificial Public Servant” (Wallenberg Foundation), one philosophical sub-projects are conducted:

AI, consciousness, and free will (Oliver Li). The starting point for the sub-project is the philosophy of consciousness and the free will debate. A central question is what is required, from a philosophical point of view, for artificial intelligence (AI) to be considered conscious and to possess free will and agency. Within the framework of the sub-project, possible ethical and worldview consequences for people arising from their interactions with AI and their perceptions of AI are also investigated. These consequences are directly or indirectly linked to issues of democracy, law, and human dignity.

Rationality in the Flesh (Elena Kalmykova, European Research Council)

The purpose of the project is to critically examine established theories about rationality and irrationality. The hypothesis advanced is that we need to develop a more embodied theory of rationality to better understand people’s belief formation and behavioral dispositions. This hypothesis is tested by analyzing different instances of irrationality with positive and negative outcomes. Religious belief and behavior are also analyzed in light of this hypothesis of embodied rationality.

A thematic study of the role of imagination in the alchemical project (Ingrid Malm Lindberg)

The aim of the research project is to identify and philosophically analyze and evaluate the role of imagination in the emergence and development of alchemy in different time periods. The project concerns potential interfaces and tensions between religion and science (as reflected in the distinction between alchemy as a spiritual and a natural-philosophical tradition). A central question to be investigated is, e.g., the role of imagination in relation to an esoteric and an exoteric approach to knowledge. The project’s theoretical framework is drawn from both historical and contemporary philosophical research on imagination.