{"id":317,"date":"2026-04-08T12:22:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/profile\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T10:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:49:29","slug":"profile","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Profile and Career<\/h1>\n

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    \n
  1. Career<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Academic CV<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Research Areas<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Courses Taught<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner gap=”30″ el_id=”career”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1781518908189{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

    Career<\/h2>\n

    My name is Jan Kerkmann, and I am currently a Privatdozent (Lecturer with Habilitation) in Philosophy at the University of Freiburg. I completed my B.A. in Philosophy and Modern German Literature in 2014 and received my M.A. in Philosophy in 2016.<\/p>\n

    From the outset, my work has focused on the history of philosophy, particularly German Idealism and post-Idealist thought in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. My current research spans the major periods of the philosophical tradition\u2014from Antiquity and the Early Modern period to classical modern philosophy\u2014and concentrates on themes in metaphysics, political philosophy, and philosophy of nature.<\/p>\n

    In my doctoral dissertation (summa cum laude; supervised by Prof. Dr. Lore H\u00fchn and Prof. Dr. Andreas Urs Sommer; published by De Gruyter in 2020), I examined Heidegger\u2019s interpretation of the history of metaphysics and his extensive engagement with Schelling and Nietzsche.<\/p>\n

    Habilitation<\/h3>\n

    My habilitation thesis (De Gruyter, 2023) continues this sustained engagement with the history of philosophy and investigates the development of epistemological idealism from Berkeley through Kant to Schopenhauer. In addition to my doctoral dissertation and habilitation, I have authored four further monographs in the field of intellectual history, edited eight collected volumes\u2014primarily in political philosophy\u2014and published more than forty scholarly articles.<\/p>\n

    I also serve as co-editor of four interdisciplinary philosophical book series that reflect my principal research interests: Political Thought in Europe<\/em> (Nomos, with Dr. David Manolo Sailer); Grundbegriffe des Menschseins<\/em> (De Gruyter, with Moritz Pretzsch); Schriftst\u00fccke: Contributions to Philosophy and Literary Studies<\/em> (Parodos, with Dr. Rainer Barbey); and Metaphysical Reconsiderations<\/em> (Brill, with Moritz Pretzsch).<\/p>\n

    Research Stays<\/h3>\n

    Since completing my habilitation in 2023, I have held research appointments at several distinguished institutions, including the University of Cambridge (Feodor Lynen Fellowship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation), Aarhus University in Denmark (DAAD), Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation), and most recently the University of Oxford. Since January 2026, I have been affiliated with Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, as an Academic Research Scholar.<\/p>\n

    These research stays, which have been particularly important for deepening my engagement with European intellectual history, have enabled the establishment of international collaborations and the development of research projects at a high scholarly level.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1781519053114{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

    Teaching<\/h2>\n

    Since 2018, I have taught courses covering the full breadth of the philosophical tradition, ranging from the Sophists and Plato to Hobbes, Spinoza, Schelling, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Emanuele Severino. In my teaching, I place particular emphasis on tracing philosophical questions, concepts, and principles across both continuities and discontinuities in intellectual history.<\/p>\n

    The historiographical methodology of the Cambridge School has further shaped my approach by sensitising me to the careful reconstruction of concepts within their original historical contexts. My pedagogical aim is to engage students actively in the investigation of major philosophical problems and influential solutions from the history of philosophy, while also demonstrating their relevance for contemporary philosophical debates. At the same time, I seek to encourage critical reflection on the established canon of philosophical texts and traditions.<\/p>\n

    Current Research Project<\/h3>\n

    One of my current research projects examines the transformation of the concept of God in early modern philosophy through the thought of George Berkeley and Baruch de Spinoza. I argue that, in this context, the concept of God should be understood not primarily as a theological notion but as an epistemological principle of structure and intelligibility. The project aims to reconstruct this development as a decisive step toward the functional reinterpretation of fundamental metaphysical concepts in modern philosophy and to explore its systematic significance.<\/p>\n

    More broadly, my research is motivated by the question of how a speculative metaphysics that lays claim to timeless validity and eternal truth can be articulated within an age of historically self-conscious philosophical reflection. The search for a way of reconciling metaphysics and historicity\u2014through nuanced, substantial, and philosophically rigorous argumentation grounded in a comprehensive knowledge of the philosophical tradition\u2014represents for me a lifelong intellectual task, one that approaches the challenge of \u201csquaring the circle.\u201d The continued exploration of this problem remains a central driving force of my philosophical work.<\/p>\n

    In pursuing this project, I seek neither to reproduce uncritically the anti-metaphysical assumptions characteristic of our age nor to affirm metaphysics as a dogmatic academic discipline detached from existential concerns and human experience.<\/p>\n

    Personal Interests<\/h3>\n

    Outside academia, I am a passionate long-distance runner and have achieved a marathon personal best of 2:27.<\/p>\n

    Academic memberships<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Member of the German Society for Philosophy.<\/li>\n
    • Member of the Goethe Society in Weimar e.V.<\/li>\n
    • Member of the Goethe Society in Weimar e.V.<\/li>\n
    • Member of the Spinoza Society e.V.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black” css=”.vc_custom_1778660368022{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” el_class=”bn_vita-list” el_id=”academic-cv”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1779115068793{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}” el_class=”bn_vita-list-hl”]<\/p>\n

      Academic CV<\/h2>\n

      [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]since 01\/2026[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Academic Research Scholar, Blackfriars Hall<\/em>, University of Oxford[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]since 12\/2025[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Academic Visitor an der Faculty of Philosophy<\/em> der University of Oxford[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]09\u201312\/2025[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Visiting Fellowship am Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanitites, University of Cambridge (Affiliation am King\u2019s College)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]09\/2024\u201309\/2025[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin (Host: Prof. Dr. Dina Emundts)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]03\u201309\/2024[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]DAAD fellowship at the University of Aarhus (Denmark). Host: Prof. Dr. Anders Moe Rasmussen (School of Culture and Society, Philosophy).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]09\/2023\u201303\/2024[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Cambridge (Associate at King\u2019s College; Host: Prof. Dr. Richard Bourke).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]06\/2023[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Habilitation and award of the venia legendi in Philosophy (Albert-Ludwigs-Universit\u00e4t Freiburg). Title of the habilitation thesis: Unendliches Bewusstsein. George Berkeleys Idealismus und dessen kritische Weiterentwicklung bei Kant und Schopenhauer.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]07\u201310\/2022[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Werner Keller Fellowship from the Goethe Society in Weimar e.V.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]since 2021[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Associate member at the Nietzsche Research Centre at the University of Freiburg.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]2019\u20132023[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Academic staff member at the Department of Philosophy (University of Freiburg).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]2016\u20132019[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Research assistant at the Research Unit \u201cPhilosophy with focus on Ethics\u201d.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]2016\u20132019[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Doctoral studies at the University of Freiburg. Title of the doctoral thesis: Die Zeit des Willens. Heideggers Rekonstruktion der neuzeitlichen Willensmetaphysik vor dem Hintergrund seiner Auseinandersetzung mit Nietzsche und Schelling<\/em>. (summa cum laude).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]2017\u20132018[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Doctoral fellowship from the \u201cFriedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom\u201d.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]2013\u20132016[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Student assistant in the Research Unit (Arbeitsbereich) \u201cPhilosophy with focus on Ethics.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]2011\u20132016[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Study of Philosophy and Modern German Literature at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg. Bachelor of Arts 2014; Master of Arts in Philosophy 2016 (overall grade: 1.0; best possible grade: 1.0).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black” css=”.vc_custom_1778659493526{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” el_class=”bn_vita-list” el_id=”research-areas”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1782807968753{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}” el_class=”bn_vita-list-hl”]<\/p>\n

      Research Areas<\/h2>\n

      [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Systematic[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Metaphysics, History of Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Nature[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Historical[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Plato, Sophists, Plotinus, Augustine, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Berkeley, Kant, Goethe, Schelling, H\u00f6lderlin, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black” css=”.vc_custom_1778659493526{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” el_class=”bn_vita-list” el_id=”courses-taught”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1782808010182{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}” el_class=”bn_vita-list-hl”]<\/p>\n

      Courses Taught<\/h2>\n

      [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Since Winter Semester 2018\/19[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Freiburg[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2026[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Plato: Fr\u00fche sokratische Dialoge (Laches, Charmides, Euthydemos)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Winter Semester 2025\/26[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Seminar: Schopenhauer, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung
      \nSeminar: Erotik und Politik bei Platon (co-taught with Jakob Leonhard Lutz)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2025[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Schelling, Freiheitsschrift (co-taught with Prof. Dina Emundts, Free University Berlin)
      \nSeminar: Nietzsche, Morgenr\u00f6te[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Winter Semester 2024\/25[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Seminar: Platon, Sophistes[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2024[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Seminar: Platon, Theaitetos[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2023[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Hobbes, Leviathan (II)
      \nSeminar: Platon, Parmenides[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Winter Semester 2022\/23[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Hobbes, Leviathan (I)
      \nSeminar: Platon, Gorgias[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2022[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Baruch de Spinoza, Ethik (II)
      \nSeminar: Marc Aurel und die stoische Philosophie[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Winter Semester 2021\/22[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Baruch de Spinoza, Ethik (I)
      \nSeminar: Platon, Phaidon[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2021[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Platon, Politeia (II)
      \nSeminar: Goethe und Spinoza[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Winter Semester 2020\/21[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Platon, Politeia (I)
      \nSeminar: Platons Auseinandersetzung mit den Sophisten[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2020[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Arthur Schopenhauer, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung (II)
      \nSeminar: Das Wesen des Nihilismus bei Heidegger und Severino[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Winter Semester 2019\/20[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Reading Course: Arthur Schopenhauer, Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung (I)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Summer Semester 2019[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Seminar: Schopenhauers Naturphilosophie[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Winter Semester 2018\/19[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]Seminar: Vorstellung bei Berkeley und Schopenhauer[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”black” css=”.vc_custom_1778659493526{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      [vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1778658082051{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner gap=”30″][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””] Profile and Career [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””] Career Academic CV Research Areas Courses Taught [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner gap=”30″ el_id=”career”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1781518908189{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”] Career My name is Jan Kerkmann, and I am currently a Privatdozent (Lecturer with Habilitation) in Philosophy at the University of Freiburg. I completed my B.A. in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-317","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":631,"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/317\/revisions\/631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jankerkmann.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}