Philosophy researcher elected to the Young Academy of Sweden

How did you find out and how did it feel?

"I was notified by e-mail while on holiday in Italy with my girlfriend. It was great news of course – I’m looking forward to a rewarding, challenging and instructive time in the Academy over the next five years!"

What role will you play in the Academy?

"I’m currently a member of the standing committee for outreach activities, which includes working to increase interest in research among children and young people. Additionally, all members regularly provide their feedback on the inputs to research policy that the Academy provides."

What are you looking forward to working on as part of your role?

"Contributing to knowledge about research being shared with the wider public in a well-informed and accessible way. This is something that I already work for through my role as one of the editors of the journal 'Filosofisk tidskrift' which is based here in the Department of Philosophy and is aimed at an interested general public. I’m also one of the presenters for the ‘Filosofisk podcast’ which is also produced by the journal. As such, it’s going to be exciting to continue this work in the new interdisciplinary setting offered by the Academy."

What are the questions in your own research that you are most passionate about and what do you think it is most important to share with the public?

"My research focuses on fundamental philosophical questions about our own values. Can a moral judgement be correct or well-founded, and if so, what is required for that to be the case? These issues are not only interesting to philosophers for theoretical reasons, but are also directly relevant to how we think about things such as climate policy, academic freedom and other key topics in contemporary social discourse. It is crucial that our positions are based on the best research available and the Academy has an important role to play in this work."

Johan Ahlenius