Philosopher

animal ethics &
climate change


news

Tierethik (Nomos, 2025)

I am co-author of Tierethik, a comprehensive introduction to key approaches in animal ethics from antiquity to the present. The book explores how the anthropocentrism of Western thought can be overcome and moral status accorded to animals.

Each of the eight chapters combines a clear and accessible exposition of major ethical theories with primary texts, discussion questions, and practical case studies designed to foster critical reflection and classroom dialogue. With its extensive bibliography and glossary of essential terms, Tierethik serves as a valuable resource for students and teachers across disciplines—from philosophy and theology to biology and veterinary medicine.

—Review by C. Salzani in Food Ethics here


ABOUT

Since June 2026, I have been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Bioethics at the University of Münster in the DFG-funded project “Climate change and wildlife: What climate ethics duties can be justified towards wildlife” (Project No ). My research examines what moral duties we have toward wild animals in virtue of climate change, drawing on animal ethics, climate ethics, and environmental ethics.

From 2025 to 2026, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Messerli Research Institute, Unit of Ethics and Human-Animal Studies, at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, where I conducted research on moral perception, animal ethics, and the ethics of biotechnology. I have also been teaching in the Interdisciplinary Master’s Programme in Human–Animal Interactions (IMHAI) since 2023. In February 2025, I received my doctorate in philosophy from the University of Vienna, where I also taught as a lecturer from 2024 to 2025.

In my dissertation, I focused primarily on methodological questions in animal ethics, particularly on how to overcome the limitations of impartial and rationalistic approaches to human–animal relationships through a practice-oriented perspective on moral problems. My main sources of inspiration were Cora Diamond and Ludwig Wittgenstein.


AREAS OF Specialization

Animal Ethics

Climate Ethics

Environmental Ethics

Metaethics

Moral perception

AREAS OF
Interest

Political philosophy

Veterinary Ethics

Ethics of Biotechnology

Phenomenology