Walter Veit

Walter Veit is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading and external member of the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. His interdisciplinary work bridges philosophy and science, with current research at the University of Cambridge's Department of Psychology in Nicola S. Clayton's comparative cognition lab. Previously affiliated with the University of Sydney's School of History and Philosophy of Science and the London School of Economics' CPNSS, Veit maintains active connections across multiple academic institutions.

Dr. Veit's research focuses on the intersection of biological, social, and mind sciences with empirically informed philosophy and ethics. His work centers on animal consciousness, welfare assessment, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence, employing an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates scientific evidence with philosophical analysis. This approach allows him to contribute meaningfully to both theoretical frameworks and practical applications in consciousness studies.

Veit has published three significant scholarly books in quick succession: A Philosophy for the Science of Animal Consciousness (Routledge, 2023), What Are Zoos For? (with Heather Browning, Bristol University Press, 2024), and Modelling Evolution (Cambridge University Press, 2025). These works demonstrate his evolving research trajectory from foundational questions about animal consciousness to practical applications in zoological institutions and theoretical modeling of evolutionary processes.

His research on animal consciousness has gained international recognition, leading to an invitation to meet with the Dalai Lama in India. Veit is also affiliated with the Theory and Method in Biosciences group (The Griffiths Lab) at the Charles Perkins Centre and has been associated with the Foundations of Animal Sentience project (ASENT) at the London School of Economics.