Ecologist, philosopher, writer

How can we live good lives in the future? My work revolves around this question. It touches science and ethics, social research and utopian thinking, activism and art.

At the current time I focus on research. I’m working on an article on the function of the imagination in environmental ethics. I’m also preparing a project on sustainability potentials in the cultural sector.

Recent publications

Ecotopianism: Towards a philosophical conception, in the anthology Greentopia: Utopian thought in the anthropocene, edited by Angela Kallhoff et al., The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics, Springer (forthcoming) ➜

Eco-authoritarianism and the German constitution: Questions, concepts, and resilience, by Michael Kalis & Philipp P. Thapa, in the journal Die Friedens-Warte (2022) ➜

Social innovation for biodiversity: A literature review and research challenges, by Rafael Ziegler, Josephine Balzac-Arroyo, Rick Hölsgens, Sarah Holzgreve, Fergus Lyon, Joachim H. Spangenberg & Philipp P. Thapa, in the journal Ecological Economics (2022) ➜

Talks

6 July 2023, Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Rumänien
Green artivism and the need for fully imagined utopias
Utopian Studies Society Europe Annual Conference (USSE) ➜

6–8 September 2023, Universidade do Minho, Guimarães, Portugal
Artivism, local creative spaces, and social-ecological transformation from the bottom up
International Social Innovation Research Conference (ISIRC) ➜

19–23 September 2023, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Artivism, local creative spaces, and social-ecological transformation from the bottom up
German Geographical Congress (DKG) ➜

19–23 September 2023, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
Wenn du’s mit der Ethik ernst meinst, denke utopisch
German Geographical Congress (DKG) ➜

Teaching

Ethics in Sustainable Development, compact course in the MSc programme Renewable Energy Engineering and Management, University of Freiburg, June 2023

Is the 1.5-degree target still realistic? The function of education for sustainable development in dealing with the effects of climate change: Analysis and evaluation of the views of leaders in non-formal education using the Delphi method, by Kim Lüdtke, MSc thesis in Environment, Nature Conservation, and Sustainability Education, supervised beside Stefan Zerbe, University of Hildesheim, 2022/23

Affiliations

The Big Green ➜
Project funded by the EU’s Creative Europe programme (2023–27)
Research lead

Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) ➜
Fellow and project staff (The Big Green)

GETIDOS – social-ecological research platform ➜
Hosted by the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy, and Mobility (IKEM)
Coordinator

Radboud Universiteit ➜
PhD researcher in environmental philosophy, Institute for Science in Society

University of Freiburg ➜
Visiting instructor in ethics in sustainable development (2011–23), MSc Renewable Energy Engineering and Management

Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development ➜
Visiting instructor in environmental ethics, BSc Landscape Use and Nature Conservation

German Writers Association (VS) ➜
Section President, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Association of German-language Translators (VdÜ) ➜
Member