Grounds, Norms, Decisions
The emerging field Grounds, Norms, Decisions examines various types and expressions of cause-and-effect relationships. The focus is shared between questions of causality, metaphysical explanations and epistemological grounds, and questions relating to the reasons for certain behaviors, to decision-making processes, and to the interaction between processes and results in collective decision-making processes and their normative assessment. Alongside basic research into the substance and logical structure of key terms, researchers examine important areas of application for the descriptive and normative analysis of relevant decision-making problems.
The research involves the Department of Philosophy (Faculty of Humanities), the Department of Economics and political science (both of the latter in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences). Together, they incorporate a globally visible expertise into the specializations, creating a basis for fruitful development of content-based linkages and structural parallels between the various debates and methodological approaches in the disciplines involved. This institutional framework is strengthened by the Emmy Noether Group "Relevance" (Krämer) in the Department of Philosophy, the DFG research group "Bedarfsgerechtigkeit und Verteilungsprozeduren" (Schnapp), and the EU Horizon 2020 collaborative project "DEMOS" (Mechtenberg), which further enhance international profile and visibility. The research-focused, international and interdisciplinary Master of Politics, Economics and Philosophy provides a significant pillar of support for doctoral and early career researchers.