Katharina Bauer is associate professor of practical philosophy at Erasmus School of Philosophy. She obtained a doctorate in philosophy (summa cum laude) for a dissertation about the phenomenon of the gift: Einander zu erkennen geben (Karl Alber Verlag 2012). In 2016 she has completed her habilitation thesis about theories of practical necessity at Ruhr-Universität Bochum as a research scholar of the “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)”, ("Was ich tun muss. Praktische Notwendigkeit und persönliche Grenzen", Mohr Siebeck 2021). She was Visiting Researcher at  Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and Goethe Universität Frankfurt a.M.  (Feodor-Lynen Fellowship for Experienced Researchers,  Alexander von Humboldt Foundation). From 2021 to 2022 she was Visiting Professor at Freie Universität Berlin. 

In her work she is connecting different traditions – from Kant to poststructuralism –, and building bridges between academic philosophy, other disciplines, and civic society. Against the background of her research on fundamental ethical ideals (such as dignity; authenticity; autonomy), she investigates the impact of current societal, technological, and ecological challenges on the self-constitution of moral agents (self-optimization; post- and transhumanism; hope in times of crisis; 'technomoral resilience'). 

She is a member of the Young Erasmus Academy, and Chair of the Dutch Association of Ethicists.

Areas of PhD Supervision: 1. Moral Philosophy 2. Theories of personal practical identity 3. Ethics of human enhancement 4. French phenomenology 5. Philosophy and literature