Philosopher at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

My research examines the interaction of culture with our perceptions, emotions, and knowledge. I investigate how architecture and urban settings impact mental health; how images, film, and other media provide new ways to perceive and understand ourselves. Additionally I focus on how art can transform us.

For more about my current affiliations visit About Me.

Research at the Arts and Minds Lab

At the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, various scientific projects have been integrated into the Arts and Minds Lab. I serve as the Scientific Director of the Research Platform Neurourbanism (RPN) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and as a Principal Investigator for the H2020 EU project ART*IS.

Discover more about RPN and ART*IS via these links.

  • Theories of Seeing: An Introduction

    4E | Phenomenology| Pragmatism| Predictive Processing / Media| Aesthetics| Book

    Hier klicken

  • Report on a 4EA Theory of Art

    Transformative Aesthetics| Neuroaesthetics| Enactivism| ART*IS| Project| Fingerhut

    Hier klicken

  • The Aesthetic Self Effect

    Experimental Philosophy| Emotions| Preferences| Moral Values| Personal Identity| Paper

    Hier klicken

  • Art and Embodied Aesthetic Emotion

    Kara Walker| Philosophy of Psychology| Exploration| Evaluation| Draft Paper

    Hier klicken

  • Report on Art in Urban Settings

    Public Art| Urban Design| Neurourbanism| Aesthetics| ART*IS| Project| Fingerhut

    Träume

News & Talks

April 2025, I will present the research of the Research Platform Neurourbanism at the International Urban Mental Health Summit (April 9-11).

March 2025, I teach a Mind and Brain/Philosophy Master course on “Aesthetic Emotions.” The class is filled now, but you can follow our activities on this discord server.

February 2025, I am attending the final symposium of the “Emotional cities” H2020 program in Lisbon and present my research on neurourbanism at Bruno Miranda’s lab.

January 2025, I am on research leave for Italy to explore the impacts of Manifesta 12 on Palermo and public urban art (13-17/20-21) and will meet with Francesco Parisi to work on a 4EA Theory of the arts in Messina (23-25).

December 2024, I have been working an an ERC consolidator grant.

November 2024, the book Theories of Seeing: An Introduction (with Eva Schürmann) is in print now (Junius, Hamburg).

News Archive

Research

My work is concerned with the intersection of embodied cognitive science with theories of film, media, urbanism and architecture, as well as art. I believe that questions of media-technological developments, aesthetics, and art should be addressed from a philosophy of mind and experimental cognitive science perspective, while such a perspective would be significantly incomplete without capturing our affective-aesthetic relationship to the world and cultural artifacts. I have explored this by working on a New Cognitive Media Theory, initially with particular attention to images and film. Currently, my focus is on the philosophy of the city and the built environment, which I pursue as a theory of neurourbanism, exploring architecture as a central medium of the mind and capturing its impact on mental health and well-being. I also focus on art and transformation, particularly how works of art offer models for the future. This website showcases my work in these interrelated fields.

2025 will be dedicated to finishing a book on The Urban Condition. Neurourbanism and the Search for the Happy City. Yet, I will continue to work on papers and presentations on beauty and wonder, as well as the “Your Emotional City!” citizen science project.

Arts and Minds Lab

At Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin I have a research group on transformative aesthetics, the Arts and Minds Lab. This is where most of my research happens. We focus mainly on one question — addressed both theoretically and experimentally — How do the arts (architecture, images, new media) transform us over time? How does art directly address our relationship to the world and aims at a remediation of those relationships.

To understand how our current technology, cultural artifacts and urban living impact the mind, we span different disciplines (data science, psychology, cognitive neuroscience) by being part of the Research Platform Neurourbanism, which cooperates with citizen scientists and practitioners. The same holds for our art research with the European consortium ART*IS that encompasses art schools as well as well as institutes for neuroscience and psychology of art, for which we also coordinate joint activities with artists, museums, galleries, etc.

Talks and Teaching

I currently teach at the Department of Philosophy are HU Berlin. I have been a deputy Professor for Philosophy of Mind at the LMU Munich and also regularly teach a block course on “Art, Aesthetics, and Media” at a Goldsmiths Master Program. I will either commence teaching as Guest Professor at the Department of Philosophy at HU Berlin or at LMU Munich starting this fall semester. Learn more about my teaching here.

I give most of my talks at conferences and academic workshops. But I will also list some more internal presentations in our projects as well as more public panel discussions and talks at museums and citizen projects.