dr. J.K.G. Hopster (Jeroen)

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the NWO Gravitation programme "Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies". I obtained my PhD in Philosophy in the NWO programmme “Evolutionary Ethics” at Utrecht University (2019), with a visiting fellowship at Harvard University. Subsequently I have been a Rubicon-fellow at the University of Graz, doing research on climate uncertainty, risk and precaution.

As an academic writer and teacher my work centres on topics in the philosophy of technology and climate ethics, with subsidiary interests in animal ethics, metaethics and the philosophy of biology. I have (co-)authored one academic volume and four philosophical books aimed at a broader readership, published in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, on the topics of counterfactual history, informal fallacies, comparative philosophy and Buddhist philosophy. I am an editor of the philosophical periodical Wijsgerig Perspectief and have a monthly discussion of contemporary moral dilemmas in Filosofie Magazine.

My current research centers on the following topics: social, conceptual and moral disruption; technomoral change; value change; conceptual engineering; moral niche construction; climate disruption; moral uncertainty; ethics of climate risk; anticipatory ethics; real possibilities; the precautionary principle; climate change and the legitimacy of moral doubt; ethics of the anthropocene; science and society.

Some recent academic papers:

Hopster J.K.G. (forthcoming 2022). Future Value Change: Identifying Realistic Possibilities and Risks. 'Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation', special issue "Designing for Value Change."

Hopster, J.K.G. (forthcoming). Climate Change, Uncertainty and Policy. In: Pellegrino G, Di Paolo M eds. Handbook of the Philosophy of Climate Change. Springer. doi: 10.20944/preprints202108.0284.v1

Hopster, J.K.G. (2021). 'Climate Uncertainty, Real Possibilities, and the Precautionary Principle.' Erkenntnis 00: 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-021-00461-2

Hopster, J.K.G. (2021). ‘What are Socially Disruptive Technologies?’ Technology in Society 67, 101750: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101750

Hopster, J.K.G. (2021). The Ethics of Disruptive Technologies: Towards a General Framework. In: J.F. de Paz Santana and D.H. de la Iglesia eds., New Trends in Disruptive Technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Tech Ethics. Cham: Springer. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3903839

Hopster, J.K.G. (2021). 'Mutual Affordances: The Dynamics between Social Media and Populism.' Media, Culture & Society 43(3): 551–560. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720957889

A more comprehensive overview can be found on my Academia / ResearchGate / Philpapers profile.

Arts & Humanities

# Metaethics
# Michael Ruse
# Moral Objectivity
# Moral Psychology
# Moral Realism
# Objectivism
# Precautionary Principle
# Realist

RESEARCH ARTICLES – PUBLISHED

Hopster J.K.G. (forthcoming). Future Value Change: Identifying Realistic Possibilities and Risks. Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation, special issue ‘Designing for Value Change’.

Hopster, J.K.G. (2021). Climate Uncertainty, Real Possibilities, and the Precautionary Principle. Erkenntnis00: 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-021-00461-2

Hopster, J.K.G. (2021). ‘What are Socially Disruptive Technologies?’ Technology in Society 67, 101750: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101750

Hopster, J.K.G. (2021). Mutual Affordances: The Dynamics between Social Media and Populism. Media, Culture & Society43(3): 551–560. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720957889

Hopster, J.K.G. and M.B.O.T. Klenk. (2020). Why Metaethics needs Empirical Moral Psychology. Crítica:Revista Hispanoamericana de Filosofía. 52(155), pp. 27–54. https://doi.org/10.22201/iifs.18704905e.2020.1193

Hopster, J.K.G. (2020). Explaining Historical Moral Convergence: The Empirical Case against Realist Intuitionism. Philosophical Studies 177, pp. 1255–1273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-019-01251-x

Hopster, J.K.G. (2019). The Speciesism Debate: Intuition, Method, and Empirical Advances. Animals 9(12), special issue: Animal Ethics: Questioning the Orthodoxy. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9121054

Hopster, J.K.G. (2019). The Metaethical Significance of Experiments about Folk Moral Objectivism. Philosophical Psychology 32(6), pp. 831–852. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2019.1627304

Hopster, J.K.G. (2019). Striking Coincidences: How Realists Should Reason about Them. Ratio 32(4), special issue Evolution and Moral Epistemology, pp. 260–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/rati.12221

Hopster, J.K.G. (2018). Evolutionary Arguments against Moral Realism: Why the Empirical Details Matter (and Which Ones Do). Biology & Philosophy 33(41), pp. 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-018-9652-0

Hopster, J.K.G. (2017). Two Accounts of Moral Objectivity: From Attitude-Independence to Standpoint-Invariance. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, special issue Objectivity in Ethics, 20/4, pp. 763–780. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-017-9796-z

BOOK CHAPTERS – PUBLISHED

Hopster, J.K.G. (forthcoming). Climate Change, Uncertainty and Policy. In: Pellegrino G, Di Paolo M eds. Handbook of the Philosophy of Climate Change. Springer. doi: 10.20944/preprints202108.0284.v1

Hopster, J.K.G. 2020 ‘Shall we adapt? Evolutionary Ethics and Climate Change.’ In: Hermann, J., Hopster, J.K.G., Kalf, W.F., Klenk, M.B.O.T. eds. Philosophy in the Age of Science? Inquiries into Philosophical Progress, Method, and Societal Relevance. Rowman & Littlefield.

ACADEMIC BOOKS – PUBLISHED

Hermann, J., Hopster, J.K.G., Kalf, W.F., Klenk, M.B.O.T., eds. 2020. Philosophy in the Age of Science? Inquiries into Philosophical Progress, Method, and Societal Relevance. Forthcoming at Rowan & Littlefield.

Hopster, J.K.G. 2019. Moral Objectivity: Origins and Foundations. Utrecht: Quaestiones Infinitae, Vol. 119. (Dissertation). Online at: https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/374619

TRADEBOOKS – PUBLISHED

Boudry, M. & J.K.G. Hopster. 2019.Alles wat in dit boek staat is waar (en andere denkfouten). Antwerp: Polis. www.polis.be/alles-wat-in-dit-boek-staat-is-waar-en-andere-denkfouten.html

Hopster, J.K.G. 2018. Food for Thought: Wereldfilosofie aan de keukentafel. Utrecht: Ten Have. https://www.uitgeverijtenhave.nl/boek/food-for-thought/

Hopster, J.K.G. 2018. De Andere Afslag: Hoe had het leven anders kunnen lopen? Amsterdam University Press.

De Wit, H.F. & J.K.G. Hopster. 2016. Bouddha Philosophe. Petit traité de sagesse pour la vie d’aujourd’hui. Paris: Les Arènes. https://www.editions-iconoclaste.fr/livres/bouddha-philosophe/

De Wit, H.F. & J.K.G. Hopster. 2014. Boeddhisme voor Denkers. Utrecht: Ten Have. https://www.uitgeverijtenhave.nl/boek/boeddhisme-voor-denkers/

Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.

'Kunnen we met Darwin de samenleving begrijpen?' Studium Generale, Utrecht, 29 september 2020. https://www.sg.uu.nl/sprekers/jeroen-hopster

'The IPCC's Uncertainty Terminology: Update Needed?' Climate Footnotes, 2020. Blog contribution. https://climatefootnotes.com/2020/08/13/the-ipccs-uncertainty-terminology-update-needed-by-jeroen-hopster/

'Tot waar rijkt de beeldenstorm?' De Tijd, 24 juli 2020. Opinion piece with Maarten Boudry. https://www.tijd.be/opinie/algemeen/tot-waar-reikt-de-beeldenstorm/10240506.html

'Evolution, Morality, Climate Change and Animal Rights.' The Dissenter, 2020, #335. Podcast interview with Ricardo Lopes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD2M7wbjDIk

'Je kan de coronacrisis zien als een generale repetitie.' Trouw, 6 april 2020. Interview by Leonie Breebaart. https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/filosoof-jeroen-hopster-je-kan-de-coronacrisis-zien-als-een-generale-repetitie~ba51c294/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

'The Young Philosophers'. 2019. Interview and lecture: http://www.theyoungphilosophers.org/en/interview/jeroen-hopster-1987/

‘Toeval’. Broodkast Show (student television), Utrecht (12 December 2018). Interview (second half): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yFbhlvVyZc

‘What if?’. Studium Generale, Technical University Delft (2 October 2018). Video of lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_8mMtC04Ro

‘What Motivates Us to do Good?’. Veritas Forum, Wageningen (24 May 2018).Video of lecture and discussion: http://nl.veritas.org/talks/?view=all-talks

'De andere afslag'. Interview at Radio1 Nieuwsweekend (17 maart 2018): https://www.nporadio1.nl/nieuwsweekend/onderwerpen/39157-2018-03-17-de-andere-afslag-jeroen-hopster

'Boeddhistisch dromen'. De Nachtzoen, NPO 2015. Television interview: https://www.npostart.nl/de-nachtzoen/12-03-2015/VPWON_1236565

+31534891355

j.k.g.hopster@utwente.nl