Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Simon Lohse and I am a philosopher of science. I have an academic background in philosophy, social and educational science and obtained my PhD in philosophy of science from Leibniz University Hannover (Germany). In 2013, I was a visiting PhD researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science (UK). After my PhD, I held postdoc positions at the Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences in Hannover where I worked on epistemic barriers for replacement methods to animal experimentation and at the Institute for History of Medicine and Science Studies at the University of Lübeck where I was involved in a cluster of excellence on precision medicine.
In 2022, I started my position as Assistant Professor at the Institute for Science in Society at Radboud University. My research and teaching at RU are primarily concerned with ethical and epistemological issues of the sciences and challenges to (interdisciplinary) knowledge integration in different contexts. I also offer some of the core courses in the Master's specialisation in Science in Society.
Why did you choose to study/work in this field? What makes this field so interesting?
During my studies, I was interested in ethical issues and questions of societal change from the very beginning. In addition, I have always been drawn to fundamental questions of knowledge production. How stable are our insights about the world? Which basic assumptions do we always have to make? This eventually led me to the philosophy of science and later to research on “ethical, legal and societal aspects” (ELSA) of the sciences. I think that the combination of aspects from the humanities, social and natural sciences and the question of the societal integration of science in particular make the field of Science & Society a fascinating one.
What are you currently doing your own research on?
My current work addresses theoretical and ethical problems of the life and the social sciences. For instance, what uncertainties arise from the synthesis of different types of evidence in precision medicine? How can we best navigate these in research and clinical settings?
Another interest revolves around animal-based research and the so-called replication crisis. Here, I try to better understand how methodological and ethical issues are interwoven and to what extent this should have implications for science reform. I recently completed a project that investigated how science informed public health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed normative implications for science-informed policy. Key results of this project were a deeper understanding of sociological and epistemological inhibitors for interdisciplinary knowledge integration in this context and starting points for improvement of the status quo.
What advice do you have for students making their study choice?
I always recommend that students expand their horizons a little, so take a look at a few study programmes that you may not yet have considered. Sometimes this can lead to surprising revisions of initial preferences.
What is the best part of working with students?
In my teaching, I often have to engage with new scientific developments in order to consider their philosophical implications. This is challenging but also very enriching, especially since I can often learn new things from the students in my courses.