Sections

The major research and teaching areas of this section focus on epistemology, philosophy of language and theories of truth, on fundamental questions on truth and knowledge, e.g., what is truth? Can truth be defined at all? Is there objective truth? What is scientific knowledge based upon? How do we acquire knowledge in science? How do we acquire knowledge through science? What is the relationship between experiment and theory? Further research areas include philosophy of mind, philosophy of logic, metaphysics and philosophy of science. ... Read more on the Theoretical Philosophy website.

The section of History of Philosophy covers the period from the antiquity to the early 20^th century. The current research focuses are on early modern philosophy and history of analytic philosophy (Prof. Renz), medieval philosophy (Prof. Berger), and Austrian Philosophy. There is intensive cooperation with the Alexius Meinong Institute, which houses the Documentation Centre of Austrian Philosophy. It is in possession of the literary estates of a number of philosophers and publishes the Meinong Studies. The section of History of Philosophy also includes the Franz Brentano Archives and Franz Brentano’s library of about 900 volumes. ... Read more on the History of Philosophy website.

The Section of Moral Philosophy is dedicated to teaching and research in the field of classical moral and political philosophy as well as legal philosophy. In ongoing projects, philosophical theories are evaluated and reformulated in terms of contemporary problems, especially concerning questions of justice and legitimacy in space and time, historical injustice, climate change, responsibility to future generations and the challenges of globalization. The Section Moral and Political philosophy strives to actively engage in discussions about questions of the good life and just coexistence in and beyond the boundaries of academic institutions. ... Read more on the Practical Philosophy website.

Political Philosophy deals with the fundamentals of politics in general, and with those of political action in particular. Thus, notions like justice, legitimacy, authority, state, power, freedom, human dignity, tolerance, solidarity and peace are in the focus of interest. Closely linked with other disciplines like Legal and State Philosophy, Political Philosophy analyzes and criticizes social and political and economic circumstances from a normative point of view, often based on certain principles of justice. Anthropological conceptions as well as particular assumptions leaned by Social Philosophy are the fertile soil for investigating such basic political questions from historical and systematical angles. Practical reasoning and the constitution of human existence are also frequent subjects of theorizing. By any account, philosophizing within Political Philosophy – understood as having an interest in self-reflection and self-conception – remains a vivid and worthwhile project. ... Read more on the Political Philosophy website.

"Phänomenologie" bezeichnet eine Forschungsrichtung, die sich in Auseinandersetzung mit dem klassischen (und logischen) Empirismus einerseits und dem Kritizismus Kants andererseits im Umfeld der Brentano-Schule gebildet hat. Von dieser historischen Herkunft, speziell von dem Verhältnis zur Brentano-Schule und von dem Bezug auf die Gründerfigur Husserl, ist die am Grazer philosophischen Institut etablierte phänomenologische Forschung geprägt. Das unterscheidet sie von andernorts anzutreffenden phänomenologischen Orientierungen, die entweder die für Husserls philosophische Entwicklung maßgebliche Auseinandersetzung mit dem Kritizismus zugunsten einer vollständigen Integration der Phänomenologie in die Tradition der analytischen Philosophie ignoriert oder das Vorhaben einer Psychologismus- und Naturalismuskritik auf Basis einer Philosophie als strenger Wissenschaft (Husserl) zugunsten eines rein hermeneutischen oder dekonstruktivistischen Philosophierens verabschiedet ...mehr Information  Homepage