Mario Brandhorst

Prof. Dr. Mario Brandhorst is a Professor of Practical Philosophy at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Since 2022, he holds a W3 Professorship in Practical Philosophy. From 2018–2020, he represented a W2/W3 professorship at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. His research spans ethics, metaethics, human dignity, free will, moral responsibility, and the history of philosophy (18th–20th centuries).

• Education
  • D.Phil. in Philosophy (2007), University of Oxford, with a thesis on practical reason
  • Habilitation (2018), Georg-August-University Göttingen, on ethical naturalism
  • Master’s in Philosophy and Modern German Literature (2001), Free University of Berlin

Research trends in his work include ethical naturalism, normative realism, Aristotelian ethics, and Kantian transcendental idealism. His publications address debates on moral objectivity, evolutionary ethics, and the autonomy of moral norms. He has contributed to interdisciplinary dialogues between ethics, law, and medicine.

Scientific awards include a

• Scatcherd European Trust scholarship (Oxford, 2003–2007)
• Fellow of the Royal Institute of Philosophy (2004–2005)
• German Academic Scholarship Foundation (1997–2001)

He advises students on practical philosophy and collaborates with centers like the Interdisciplinary Scientific Center Medicine - Ethics - Law. His research grants and editorial roles reflect engagement with ethical theory and 20th-century philosophy.