Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 1.8.2014-31.7.2016
Office: Atalpa 216
Tel.: +358 (0)50 318 7322
Email: heikki.a.kovalainen@uta.fi
Research interests
My research works at the intersections of the private and the public. I’m looking for ways in which to make sense of the alleged tension between self-regard and other-regard in contemporary societies, drawing from moral and social philosophy. Presently, I’m working on two monographs growing out of the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose work is increasingly discussed in the contexts of democracy and social critique. The first one seeks Emerson a place in the history of philosophy in relation to other thinkers (both predecessors and followers), and the second one outlines Emerson’s ethics of self-cultivation vis-à-vis his original appropriation of the concept of Bildung.
On the social side, I’m interested in the philosophical concept of interpersonal recognition, bringing aspects of the contemporary work of Stanley Cavell into a dialogue with classical sources on recognition (esp. Hegel and Kojève). Intersubjective recognition is understood as the precondition not only for individual ethical development but also social progress. In addition to the IASR affiliation, I work with the Center of Excellence “Reason and Religious Recognition” based at the University of Helsinki, which makes religious recognition into one of my research themes as well. A working hypothesis here is that Cavell’s moral-perfectionist concepts may be used to make sense of – and even foster, via interdisciplinary dialogue – the prospects of recognition between different religious groups.