Aim of the course
Empirical philosophy represents an ambition to make conceptual, rationalistic research more “lived,” corresponding with the messy complexity of sociotechnical lives. Through a variety of quantitative and qualitative ways of interpreting reality, empirical philosophy gives the theoretical constructs a reality check, maintaining space for conceptual flexibility and innovation.
This course will provide students with an introduction to the subject, focusing on qualitative methods, explaining why the students may want to consider empirical philosophy in their research, and discussing a range of pitfalls that may arise from pursuing this line of work. Additionally, the course will introduce the students to a range of approaches and methods that can be broadly affiliated with doing empirical philosophy, such as Interviewing, Focus groups, Phenomenological analysis, Ethnographic work, Foresight studies, and others. Additionally, this course will have several practice-first workshops (e.g., on interviewing techniques, on using AI in systematic and scoping literature reviews) to give students a controlled environment to practice research skills that may be useful in conducting empirical-philosophical work. Particular attention in the course will be given to the problem of translating empirical insights into philosophical analysis and how the two can mutually inform each other, as well as on the use of Generative AI in empirical-philosophical work.
Course information
ECTS: 3EC (readings, participation, presentation) or 5EC (readings, participation, presentation, blog post)
Date: 13 - 17 April 2026.
Location: TU Delft Campus
Course coordinators: dr. Olya Kudina
Program
The course will run over five days, with the first three and a half days dedicated to lectures and hands-on workshops (3-4 activities per day), a half-day dedicated to preparing the final presentation, and the last day to students’ presentations. Next to the organizer of the course, the lectures and workshops will feature guest lecturers from the Netherlands and, based on availability, from abroad. They will be researchers in philosophy and other academic fields, providing students with an introduction to specific methods, offering their experience-based reflections on implementing them in research. They will also provide practical exercises for students to try out the methods in various forms. As the final assignment for the course, the students will be expected to give an extensive and critical presentation reflecting on the use or non-use of empirical philosophy in their PhD projects or in anticipated research.
Each year, the course organizer attempts to tailor the content of the course to the needs of the students; that’s why the program of the course, with specified lecturers, topics, and a course reader, will become available in February 2026. Recurring methods and topics include phenomenological and (digital) ethnographic analysis, foresight studies, as well as attention to interviewing and data interpretation skills.
Preparation and assessment
The study load is the equivalent of 5 ECTS.
- Upon registration, participants must submit a 250–word description of the motivation and interests for participation.
- The course requires around 20 pre-read papers to participate in an engaged and meaningful manner. A reader will become available in early February.
- The students are expected to engage in all individual and group-based exercises throughout the course.
- The students are expected to present their individual reflections: the students will be expected to give an extensive and critical presentation reflecting on the use or non-use of empirical philosophy in their PhD projects or in anticipated research.
- Attendance on all days is mandatory to obtain the credits.
Costs and registration
Costs:
- Free to PhD students who are a member of the OZSW and/or another Dutch research school in the Humanities (LOGOS);
- Free to Research Master students who are a member of the OZSW and/or another Dutch research school in the Humanities (LOGOS);
- All others pay a tuition fee of €300.
How to register:
- Members of the OZSW: make sure you are logged in on the website. After you have successfully registered for the course, it will appear in your ‘profile page’.
- PhD researchers may register via the registration button on the OZSW website.
- ReMA students and postdocs may apply for a waiting list (as the primary target group for this activity is PhD researchers) by sending an email to secretariaat@ozsw.nl
The registration deadline is March 31, 2026. If registration has been closed because the maximum amount of participants has been reached, you can submit your name to the waiting list by sending an email to secretariaat@ozsw.nl. Please also indicate whether you are a ReMA student, postdoc or PhD candidate and whether you are a member of the OZSW or not.
The OZSW registration and cancellation policy applies to this activity (to be found here).
Contact information
Olya Kudina
o.kudina@tudelft.nl