Prof. Dr. Alexander Reutlinger

Alexander Reutlinger joined the MCMP in 2013. Currently, he holds the position of an Akademischer Oberrat (auf Lebenszeit) and is außerplanmäßiger Professor. He is – together with Norbert Gratzl – the coordinator of the Master program Logic and Philosophy of Science at LMU Munich.

Alexander Reutlinger earned a Magister Artium (M.A.) in philosophy from the Freie Universität Berlin in 2008, obtained a Dr. phil. from the University of Cologne in 2011, and completed his Habilitation (venia: philosophy) at LMU Munich in 2017. Before arriving in Munich, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Cologne. Moreover, he was a visiting fellow at the University of Bristol, the Center for Philosophy of Science (University of Pittsburgh) and the Institute Vienna Circle (University of Vienna).

Research Interests

Alexander’s research is concerned with various topics in (general) philosophy of science and neighboring areas of epistemology and metaphysics – mostly, in the context of the natural sciences.

Alexander’s current research addresses the following topics:

• Strategic Science Skepticism: demarcating strategic science skepticism from productive and legitimate critique and ‘healthy’ forms of skepticism in the sciences; providing a critical analysis of typical arguments that strategic science skeptics use – arguments based on crucial assumptions about evidence, expertise, (dis)agreement and consensus, non-epistemic values and interests, scientific revolutions, and more.
• Objectivity: defining objectivity in terms of invariance and independence; exploring how objectivity, if defined in this invariantist manner, relates to justification (or confirmation) via empirical evidence and testimonial evidence (where the latter includes agreement and disagreement among scientists), to symmetry, necessity, causation, and to big picture issues in philosophy of science (such as, the value-free ideal and anti/realism).

Further Activities

Alexander received the teaching award (Preis für gute Lehre) for the academic year 2016/17.

 Organization of Conferences and Workshops (selected)

• Workshop “Invariance and Objectivity” (June 2023), Institute Vienna Circle (University of Vienna), in cooperation with the MCMP; co-organizer: Georg Schiemer.
• Online-workshop “Philosophy of Science Meets Normative Theory II” (November 19, 2021), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP), co-organizer: Christian List.
• Online-workshop “Philosophy of Science Meets Normative Theory I” (October 22, 2021), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP); co-organizer: Christian List
• Workshop "Contested Expertise" (March 30, 2020), Munich Center fo Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP), co-organizer: Kim Naumann.
• Organizer of the workshop "Objectivity - New Perspectives on Objective Inquiry", (May 6, 2018), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP).
• Jerusalem-Munich Workshop: "Explanation and Reduction in the Sciences" (February 8-10, 2018), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Edelstein Center for History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine); co-organizers: Stephan Hartmann and Orly Shenker.
• Jerusalem-Munich Workshop; "Explanatory Reasoning in the Sciences" (February 23-24, 2017), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP); co-organizers: Stephan Hartmann and Orly Shenker.
• Workshop: "The Physics of Society: Philosophy of Econophysics and Complex Social Systems" (July 22-23, 2016), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP); co-organizers: Seamus Bradley, Meinard Kuhlmann and Karim Thébault.
• Symposium: "Non-Causal Aspects of Scientific Explanation", (September 23-26, 2015), EPSA 2015, Düsseldorf, co-organizer: Mathias Frisch.
• Workshop "Just Playing? Toy Models in the Sciences" (May 8-9, 2015), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP); co-organizer: Dominik Hangleiter.
• Symposium on Mathias Frisch’s book "Causal Reasoning in Physics" (February 6, 2015), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP).
• Symposium "Non-causal Explanations in the Sciences", Biennal Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (November 2014, Chicago, USA).
• Conference "Explanation Beyond Causation", with Stephan Hartmann (October 23-24, 2014), Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP).
• Conference "Causality and Complexity in the Sciences" in the conference series Causality in the Sciences (September 2014, Cologne).
• Workshop "Explaining without Causes. Non-causal Explanations in the Sciences" (December 2013, Cologne).
• Workshop "Emergence, Stability, and Parthood in Biological and Physical Systems" (June 2013, Cologne).
• Symposium "Laws and Complex Systems", Biennal Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (November 2012 in San Diego, USA).

Recent and Forthcoming Publications

Books 

• Reutlinger, A. (2017) Rethinking Scientific Explanation. Explanation Beyond Causation (Habilitation)
• Reutlinger, A. (2013) A Theory of Causation in the Biological and Social Sciences, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Edited Volumes

• Reutlinger, A. and Saatsi, J. (eds.) (2018) Explanation Beyond Causation. Philosophical Perspectives on Non-Causal Explanations, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Reutlinger, A. and Unterhuber, M. (eds.) (2014) Ceteris Paribus Laws Revisited, Special Issue of Erkenntnis, Volume 79, Issue 10.

Selected Research Papers

• Reutlinger, A. (in progress): "Strategic Science Skepticism and the Social Epistemology of Agreement".
• Reutlinger, A. (2022): “When Do Non-Epistemic Values Play an Epistemically Illegitimate Role in Science? How to Solve One Half of the New Demarcation Problem”, Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science 92: 152-161.
• Reutlinger, A. (2021): "Objectivity as Independence", Episteme.
• Reutlinger, A., Colyvan, M, and Krzyżanowska, K. (2020): "The Prospects for a Monist Theory of Non-Causal Explanation in Science and Mathematics", Erkenntnis, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-020-00273-w.
• Reutlinger, A. (2020): "What is Epistemically Wrong with Research Affected by Sponsorship Bias? The Evidential Account", European Journal for Philosophy of Science 10, DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s13194-020-00280-2.
• Saatsi, J. and Reutlinger, A. (2018) "Taking Reductionism to the Limit: How to Rebut the Anti-Reductionist Argument from Infinite Limits", Philosophy of Science 85: 455-482. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2018) "Extending the Counterfactual Theory of Explanation", Reutlinger, A., and Saatsi, J. (eds.), Explanation Beyond Causation. Philosophical Perspectives on Non-Causal Explanations, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 74-95.
• Reutlinger, A., Hangleiter, D., and Hartmann, S. (2018) "Understanding (with) Toy Models", The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 69: 1069-1099. [A.R. is the first/lead author]. (Preprint.)
• Thébault, K., Bradley, S., and Reutlinger, A. (2018) "Modelling Inequality", The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 69: 691–718. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2017)  "Are Causal Facts Really Explanatorily Emergent? Ladyman and Ross on Higher-level Causal Facts and Renormalization Group Explanation", Synthese 194: 2291-2305. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2017) "Do Renormalization Group Explanations Conform to the Commonality Strategy?", Journal for General Philosophy of Science, 48(1), 143-150. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A., and Andersen, H. (2016) "Abstract versus Causal Explanations?", International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 30.2: 129-146. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2016) "Warum Atheisten den methodologischen Atheismus nicht brauchen", Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 70. 4: 550-561.  (Preprint, 156 Kb)
• Reutlinger, A. (2016) "Is There A Monist Theory of Causal and Non-Causal Explanations? The Counterfactual Theory of Scientific Explanation", Philosophy of Science 83: 733-745. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2016) "Does the Counterfactual Theory of Explanation Apply to Non-Causal Explanations in Metaphysics?", European Journal for Philosophy of Science 7: 239–256. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2014) "Why Is There Universal Macro-Behavior? Renormalization Group Explanation As Non-causal Explanation." Philosophy of Science 81: 1157-1170. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2014) "Do Statistical Laws Solve the 'Problem of Provisos'?", Erkenntnis 79: 1759-1773. (Preprint.)
• Backmann, M., and Reutlinger, A. (2014) "Better Best Systems - Too Good to Be True", Dialectica 68: 375-390. (Preprint.)
• Farr, M., and Reutlinger, A. (2013) "A Relic of a Bygone Age? Causation, Time Symmetry and the Directionality Argument", Erkenntnis 78: 215-235. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2013) "Can Interventionists be Neo-Russellians? Interventionism, the Open Systems Argument and the Arrow of Entropy", International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 27(3): 275-295. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2012) "Getting Rid of Interventions", Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science Part C 43 (4): 787-795. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2011) "A Theory of Non-universal Laws", International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 25, 97-117. (Preprint.)

Selected Survey Papers

• Reutlinger, A. (2020): "Strategischer Wissenschaftsskeptizismus", M. Jungert et al. (ed.) Wissenschaftsreflexion. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven zwischen Philosophie und Praxis, Paderborn: Mentis Verlag, 351-369.
• Reutlinger, A., and Saatsi, J. (2018) "Introduction: Scientific Explanations Beyond Causation", Reutlinger, A., and Saatsi, J. (eds.), Explanation Beyond Causation. Philosophical Perspectives on Non-Causal Explanations, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-11. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. (2017) "Kausalität", In Metzler Handbuch Metaphysik, M. Schrenk (Hg.), Metzler Verlag: 306-311. (Preprint, 196 Kb)
• Reutlinger, A. (2017) "Explanation Beyond Causation? New Directions in the Philosophy of Scientific Explanation", Philosophy Compass, Online First. (Preprint.)
• Reutlinger, A. Schurz, G. and Hüttemann, A. (2015) "Ceteris Paribus Laws", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
• Reutlinger, A., and Unterhuber, M. (2014) "Thinking About Non-Universal Laws", Erkenntnis 79: 1703-1713.
• Reutlinger, A. Schurz, G. and Hüttemann, A. (2011) "Ceteris Paribus Laws", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

Selected Book Reviews

• Reutlinger, A. (2017): "Review of Marc Lange's Because Without Cause: Non-Causal Explanations in Science and Mathematics", Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
• Reutlinger, A., and Hartmann, S. (2016) "Review of Margaret Morrison's Reconstructing Reality: Models, Mathematics and Simulations", The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science.
• Reutlinger, A. (2015) "Metaphysics, Prescription, and Methodological Disagreement. A Comment on Mathias Frisch’s Causal Reasoning in Physics", Metascience 24.3: 351-372.
• Reutlinger, A. (2013) "Review of John T. Roberts’s The Law-Governed Universe", Logical Analysis and History of Philosophy 16: 390-394.
• Reutlinger, A. (2011) "Review of Marc Lange’s Laws and Lawmakers", Philosophical Quarterly 61: 415-418.
• Reutlinger, A. (2009) "Markus Schrenk’s The Metaphysics of Ceteris Paribus Laws", The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 60: 229-233.

Outreach and Communicating Philosophy of Science

• Installation of a memorial plaque for Otto Neurath, a prominent member of the Vienna Circle, at the Gemeindebau Haydnhof in Vienna (January 2024). The project was realized together with Günther Sandner (University of Vienna), in collaboration with Wiener Wohnen, Bezirksamt Meidling (Bezirksrätin Karmen Minassian) and Bezirksmuseum Meidling.
• "Socially Engaged Philosophy", an outreach project addressing how philosophy of science bears on some of today's core social and political issues. The project is run by Maria Kronfeldner (Central European University, Vienna), Martin Kusch (University of Vienna), and myself.
• Reutlinger, A. and Sandner, G. (2022): “Warum demokratische Beteiligung mehr Wissenschaftskompetenz braucht”, Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte. Zeitschrift der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung 26-27 (issue on Wissenschaft, Öffentlichkeit, Demokratie): pp. 21-27. (Volltext 413KB)
• Reutlinger, A. (2021): "Wir möchten philosophisch fundierte Wissenschaftskompetenz vermitteln", an interview for Wissenschaftskommunikation.de, interviewer: Inga Dreyer, 20.12. 2021.
• Fernández Pinto, M., Leuschner, A., and Reutlinger, A. (2021): “How Intimidating Scientists Compromises Research”, a discussion with Manuela Fernández Pinto (Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá) and Anna Leuschner (University of Wuppertal) on epistemic intimidation.
• Reutlinger, A. and Sandner, G. (2021): “Wissenschaftliche Expertise in der Demokratie. Zur Aktualität von Otto Neuraths politischer Wissenschaftsphilosophie”, G. Waldner (ed.), Die Konturen der Welt. Geschichte und Gegenwart visueller Bildung nach Otto Neurath, Vienna and Berlin: Mandelbaum Verlag, pp. 79-100. (Volltext 537KB)
• Kronfeldner, M. and Reutlinger, A. (2021): "Why Philosophers Care about Dehumanization", a discussion with Maria Kronfeldner (Central European University, Vienna) about the phenomenon of dehumanization and why philosophers should care about it.
• Reutlinger, A. and Sandner, G. (2021): "Otto Neurath und Expertise in der Demokratie", a discussion with Günther Sandner (University of Vienna, Institute Vienna Circle) about the role of scientific experts in democracies, historically and systematically informed by Otto Neurath's political philosophy of expertise.
• Reutlinger, A. (2021): “Wissenschaftsfreiheit? Nur dem Namen nach! Ein kritischer Kommentar zum ‚Netzwerk Wissenschaftsfreiheit‘”, prae|faktisch – Ein Philosopieblog, 9.3. 2021.
• Reutlinger, A. (2021): “Falsche Freunde”, Merkur. Deutsche Zeitschrift für europäisches Denken, Merkur Blog, 25.02. 2021.
• Kusch, M. and Reutlinger, A. (2021): "Why Relativism Does Not Undermine Science", a discussion with Martin Kusch (University of Vienna) on epistemic relativism and the question whether relativism undermines science.
• Kusch, M. and Reutlinger, A (2021): “Criticising Science”, Philosophy Now. A Magazine of Ideas 142: 12-15. (PDF Version, 559 Kb)
• Kusch, M. and Reutlinger, A. (2020): “Values in Science”, a discussion with Martin Kusch (University of Vienna) on the role of epistemic and non-epistemic values in science.
• Reutlinger, A. (2020): “Wissenschaftskommunikation in Krisenzeiten”, AVISO. Magazin für Kunst und Wissenschaft in Bayern 2/20: 16-17.
• Kusch, M. and Reutlinger, A. (2020) “Science, Criticism, Scepticism”, a discussion with Martin Kusch (University of Vienna) on different kinds of science criticism in the context of the climate crisis and the Corona crisis.
• Reutlinger, A. (2020): “Expertenherrschaft oder Wissenschaftskommunikation? Wissenschaftliche Politikberatung in Zeiten der Corona-Krise”, prae|faktisch – Ein Philosopieblog, 10.5. 2020.
• Reutlinger, A. (2020): "Otto Neurath. Über einen politisch engagierten Philosophen", Cogito 13 ("Moderne").
• Reutlinger, A. (2020): "Interview über Wissenschaftsskeptizismus und Werte in den Wissenschaften" (interview on science skepticism and values in science), Die Funzel 4: 39-41.(Interview, 1,44 Mb)
• Reutlinger, A. (2019): "Die Wissenschaft als magische Glaskugel" (on the March For Science 2019), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Online, 9.5.2019.
• Reutlinger, A. (2019): "Wie man die Wahrheit in der Wissenschaft erkennt", Interview on strategic science skepticism, in: "Die Profis" on radioeins RBB, 26.01. 2019.
• Reutlinger, A. (2019): "Klimawandel? Welcher Klimawandel? Die Wissenschaft hat viele Feinde. Einige geben sich großzügig wie Freunde", Süddeutsche Zeitung, No. 18, 22.1. 2019, p. 13.
• Kronfeldner, M. and Reutlinger, A. (work in progress): "Wie sollten sich Philosoph*innen in politischen Debatten äußern?".
• Reutlinger, A. (2018): "Bedrohte akademische Freiheit. Der Fall Central European University", prae|faktisch - Ein Philosophieblog.
• Following a good old tradition in philosophy of science, I give philosophy talks at the Volkshochschule and I cooperate with high schools in Munich.
• Maria Kronfeldner and Alexander Reutlinger (2018): "Was sollen Philosoph/innen tun? Kommentar zur Podiumsdiskussion 'Bedrohtes Denken' (DGPhil Kongress 2017)", Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 72.1: 114-118. (Preprint, 118 Kb)
• Reutlinger, A. (2018): "Evidenz trumpft! Eine Kritik am Begriff der alternativen Fakten", Cogito 11: 21-22.(Preprint, 87 Kb)
• Alexander Reutlinger has published "Zur Rebellion gegen die Intellektuellen" in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He defends the epistemically and politically valuable role of scientific experts and intellectuals in the public domain. His article is a reply to Nassim Nicholas Taleb's essay "Die Wohlwissenden".
• Artistic protest in Munich supporting the Central European University (Budapest).

Teaching

Winter term 2023/24:

• Debunking Strategic Science Skepticism - Philosophical Perspectives
• BA/MA-Abschlusskolloquium MCMP

Summer term 2023:

• Vorlesung: Theoretische Philosophie I/II: Erkenntnis- und Wissenschaftstheorie
• Epistemology of Science

Winter term 2022/23:

• Scientific Revolutions - Perspectives from Philosophy of Science
• Wissenschaftliche Expertise in Demokratien

Summer term 2022:

• Vorlesung: Theoretische Philosophie I/II: Erkenntnis- und Wissenschaftstheorie
• Scientific Objectivity

Winter term 2021/22:

• Climate Change and Climate Science - Perspectives from Philosophy of Science

• BA/MA Abschlusskolloquium Wissenschaftsphilosophie

Summer term 2021:

• Vorlesung: Theoretische Philosophie I/II: Erkenntnis- und Wissenschaftstheorie
• Wissenschaft und Demokratie
• Science Skepticism - Epistemological Perspectives

Winter term 2020/21:

• Der Wiener Kreis (Blockseminar)

Summer term 2020:

• Vorlesung: Theoretische Philosophie I/II: Erkenntnis und Wissenschaftstheorie
• Expertise and Trust in Science

Winter term 2019/20:

• Einführung in das wissenschaftliche Arbeiten

Summer term 2019:

• Vorlesung: Theoretische Philosophie I/II: Erkenntnis- und Wissenschaftstheorie

Winter term 2018/19:

• Science Skepticism: Bias, Doubt, and Ignorance in Research
• Der Wiener Kreis: Wissenschaftliche Weltauffassung und soziale Revolution
• BA/MA-Abschlusskolloquium Wissenschaftsphilosophie

Summer term 2018:

• Vorlesung: Theoretische Philosophie I: Wissenschaftstheorie
• Objektivität in den Wissenschaften: Historische und philosophische Perspektiven

Winter term 2017/2018:

• Metaphysics of Science
• John Stuart Mill

Summer term 2017:

• Vorlesung: Theoretische Philosophie I: Einführung in die Wissenschaftstheorie
• Epistemology: Bias and Objectivity

Winter term 2016/17:

• Social Epistemology - Central Topics
• Was ist Kausalität - Eine Einführung

Summer term 2016:

• Vorlesung - Theoretische Philosophie I: Einführung in die Wissenschaftstheorie
• Religionsphilosophie: Glaube, Wissenschaft und Ethik

Winter term 2015/16:

• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophie, Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft: Begleitseminar zum Münchner Philosophischen Kolloquium

Summer term 2015:

• Metaphysics of Science
• Introduction to General Philosophy of Science (block seminar)