Thomas Potthast is Full Professor for Ethics, Philosophy and History of the Life Sciences, and Co-Director of the International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW) at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He studied biology (Diploma 1993) and philosophy at Freiburg, Germany, followed by a PhD at Tübingen (1998) with a study on links between evolutionary biology, ecology and environmental ethics. He was PostDoc at the Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science, Berlin (1998-2001) followed by a Fellowship of the Humboldt Foundation at the University of Madison-Wisconsin, Department History of Science and Centre for Environmental Studies.

His research and teaching deals with ethical and epistemological dimensions of science, also addressing conceptual and practical questions of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research at the science-society-interface, with a special focus on the life sciences and sustainable development.

Selected publications

Potthast, Thomas (2017). Haushaltende Naturverhältnisse. In: Kirchhoff, Thomas et al. (eds.) Naturphilosophie. Ein Lehr- und Studienbuch. UTB/Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen: 210-216.

Potthast, Thomas (2015). Ethics and Sustainability Science beyond Hume, Moore and Weber – Taking Epistemic-Moral Hybrids Seriously. In: Meisch, Simon, Johannes Lundershausen, Leonie Bossert & Marcus Rockoff (eds.): Ethics of Science in the Research for Sustainable Development. Nomos, Baden-Baden: 129-152.

Potthast, Thomas (2014). The values of biodiversity. In: Lanzerath, Dirk & Minou Friele (eds.) Concepts and Values in Biodiversity. Routledge, London: 131-146.

Potthast, Thomas (2011). Philosophische Perspektiven einer umweltgerechten Landwirtschaft. In: GETHMANN, Carl-Friedrich (eds.) Lebenswelt und Wissenschaft – XXI. Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie, 15.-19. September 2008. Deutsches Jahrbuch für Philosophie 2, Meiner, Hamburg: 1249-1268.

Potthast, Thomas (2009). Paradigm shifts vs. fashion shifts? Systems and synthetic biology as new epistemic entities in understanding and making “life”. EMBO Reports 10 (Special Issue): 51-54.