Prof. Dr. Frieder Vogelmann

Prof. Dr. Frieder Vogelmann

Professor for Epistemology & Theory of Science

University College Freiburg

University of Freiburg

Biography

I am professor for epistemology & theory of science at the University College Freiburg and the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Freiburg.

In my research, I focus on political epistemology, an emerging field of research in which I pursue the dual insight of early Frankfurt School Critical Theory that epistemology requires social theory just as social theory requires epistemology. I am developing this insight in dialogue with analytic, continental and feminist epistemology on the one hand, and (French) political and social theory/philosophy on the other hand. My most recent books on political epistemology (both in German) are The Effectiveness of Knowledge. A Political Epistemology (2022) and Umkämpfte Wissenschaften – zwischen Idealisierung und Verachtung (2023).

My older research projects – on alternative governmentalities, on the concept of responsibility, on the concept of critique and on Michel Foucault’s philosophical method – have a common methodological core, best described as a historical-critical conceptual analysis. Following Ludwig Wittgenstein and Michel Foucault, I take the meaning of concepts to be established by their use in our social practices. Yet these practices must have a history emerging from the social struggles in which they partake.

You can find further information in my CV or on my Academia.edu profile.

Interests
  • Political Epistemology
  • Critical Theory
  • Social and Political Philosophy
  • Michel Foucault
  • Responsibility
  • Contemporary French Philosophy
Education
  • Habilitation and Award of the venia legendi in Philosophy, 2020

    University Frankfurt/Main

  • PhD in Philosophy, 2013

    University Frankfurt/Main

  • MA in Philosophy, Mathematics and Cognitive Science, 2009

    University of Freiburg im Breisgau

Academic Appointments

Recent Publications

Bloß keine Idee zur beherrschenden werden lassen
From Konrad Lorenz to Protagoras: a lecture by Paul Feyerabend from the year 1985.
Review of Paul Feyerabend (2023): Historische Wurzeln moderner Probleme. Vorlesung an der ETH Zürich 1985. Berlin: Suhrkamp. Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 12, 2024.
Against Responsibilisation: On the Domination of Concepts [in German]
Responsibilisation of thought means the domination of a certain usage of “responsibility” that hides the objectification of power relations within subjects in order to let them feel sovereign despite all their limitations.
Against Responsibilisation: On the Domination of Concepts [in German]
Situated, Not Located: The Institute for Social Research as Impossible Place for Critical Theory [in German]
My contribution to the 100th anniversary of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt considers the necessary yet unrealisable expectations towards an institutionalisation of critical theory.
Situated, Not Located: The Institute for Social Research as Impossible Place for Critical Theory [in German]
Contested Sciences – Between Idealisation and Contempt [in German]
Against the twin trends of science denialism and of a dangerously one-dimensional understanding of sciences, Vogelmann argues for a more realistic account of scientific practices.
Contested Sciences -- Between Idealisation and Contempt [in German]

Upcoming Talks

Wahrheit und Praxis – Schwierige Verhältnisse [in German]
Talk and roundtable discussion with Prof. Dr. Christian Meyer & Prof. Dr. Sven Reichardt (Universiy Konstanz).

Recent Posts

Forschungspraktiken erforschen: Zur kritischen Reflexion akademischer Wissensproduktion
Die Ringvorlesung wirft aus ganz unterschiedlichen Perspektiven kritische Blicke auf akademische Praktiken.
Forschungspraktiken erforschen: Zur kritischen Reflexion akademischer Wissensproduktion
Im Radio: Wissenschaft als Mittel gegen das »postfaktische Zeitalter«?
Im Hörsaal von Deutschlandfunk Nova wird am 1. Oktober 2023 die Aufnahme meines Vortrags »Wissenschaft als Mittel gegen das ›postfaktische Zeitalter‹?« ausgestrahlt.
Im Radio: Wissenschaft als Mittel gegen das »postfaktische Zeitalter«?
New Book in Autumn! [in German]
My new book Contested Sciences – Between Idealisation and Contempt comes out in the [Was bedeutet das alles?]-series with Reclam on 13 October 2023.
New Book in Autumn! [in German]
Political Epistemology
My research focus on political epistemology bundles different projects, for example on the effectiveness of knowledge, on the concept of normativity or on the history of political epistemology.
Political Epistemology
BEHEMOTH - A Journal on Civilisation
The journal Behemoth publishes semi-annually research articles on contingent and sometimes precarious regimes of (dis)order.
BEHEMOTH - A Journal on Civilisation
Alternative Govern­mentalities
How can we govern in such a way that those governed need not fear those governing? What if the usual answer of political philosophy, namely “autonomy,” is not sufficient?
Alternative Govern­mentalities
Concepts of Critique
How do we picture the activity of criticising, and how does this influence our theoretical activity of explicating the concept of critique? What kind of knowledge do we produce in criticising? And what is the relation between critique and necessity?
Concepts of Critique
Zeitschrift für philosophische Literatur
Zeitschrift für philosophische Literatur is a peer-reviewed open-access online journal for book reviews in scholarly philosophy.
Zeitschrift für philosophische Literatur
Philosophie & Kritik. Beiträge zur politischen Philosophie und Kritischen Theorie
The book series Philosophie & Kritik. Beiträge zur politischen Philosophie und Kritischen Theorie will start in 2017 with Springer VS. It publishes books which understand themselves as politically engaged philosophy.
Philosophie & Kritik. Beiträge zur politischen Philosophie und Kritischen Theorie
Michel Foucault’s Philosophy
From a systematic perspective I am especially interested in Michel Foucault’s methodology and the resulting conception of (political) philosophy as well as his attempts to write a non-relativistic ‘History of Truth’.
Michel Foucault's Philosophy
Responsibility
That we should behave and act responsibly seems to be a self-evident norm hardly questioned by anyone. Yet, historically speaking, this is fairly new – only 200 years ago, “responsibility” was a rather marginal legal concept with no ethical significance. So what does the surprising career of “responsibility” mean, both for our thinking and our acting? What happens when “responsibility” becomes a required self-understanding for individuals at the workplace, in the welfare state or in the criminal justice system? And what are the consequences when philosophy’s analyses of “responsibility” focus almost exclusively on conditions of agency mostly absent in non-philosophical practices?
Responsibility
The Genealogy of Normativity
In this research project, I aim to write a genealogy of “normativity,” this “chief term” of philosophy.
The Genealogy of Normativity
The Roots of Political Epistemology
In this research project, I analyze theoretical advances towards a general political epistemology in different fields: philosophy of science, critical theory, feminist epistemology, French poststructuralism, analytic epistemology and postcolonial theory.
The Roots of Political Epistemology
The Effectiveness of Knowledge. A Political Epistemology
How does knowledge affect us? What political significance do epistemological questions and insights have? My habilitation project investigates the force of knowledge
The Effectiveness of Knowledge. A Political Epistemology

Teaching

In the summer term 2024, I will teach the following courses:

Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
This lecture introduces students to the philosophy of science by looking at its most important problems and debates.
Kaleidoscope. Colloquium for Alternative Epistemologies (together with Anke Graneß)
In this joint colloquium, we will read research literature on alternative epistemologies as well as discuss talks on current research projects from members of the colloquium and external guests.
Knowledge, Sexuality and Identities. Linda Martín Alcoffs radical contemporary philosophy [in German]
In this seminar, we will explore Linda Martín Alcoff philosophical work along the three topics mentioned in the seminar title.

Notes on Term Papers

Scientific writing is not an easy task. To help you with the writing part and to give you some idea how to find a good research question for your term papers, I have assembled some tips in the Hausarbeiten-Survival Guide. (Note that this is a document in progress and is not quite as developed as its German counterpart.)

Contact