Research projects in philosophy
Current projects
A five-year project on the role of imagination in cognition began in January 2025. It brings together contemporary and ancient Greek perspectives on imagination to develop a better understanding of its diverse roles in human cognition. The project is led by Uku Tooming, Associate Professor of Theoretical Philosophy. Its research team includes Roomet Jakapi, Associate Professor of History of Philosophy; Riin Sirkel, Associate Professor of Ancient Philosophy; and Toomas Lott, Research Fellow in History of Philosophy.
The project aims to:
- examine and critically reassess traditional distinctions between types of imagination, including forms that lie between these types;
- analyse the cognitive roles of imagination at different stages of thought;
- investigate how imaginative skills can be developed and applied in different areas of life.
The project PRG2721, “Imagination in Cognition: Contemporary and Ancient Perspectives” (1 January 2025–31 December 2029), is funded by the Estonian Research Council.
The project, which began in early 2024, examines how different interpretative contexts shape what readers actually understand from official texts. It focuses on so-called metacontexts: organisational and professional background factors that influence interpretation even when everyone is reading the same text. The project is led by Alex Davies, Associate Professor of Philosophy of Language. The research team includes Urmet Kivipõld, Associate Professor of Management; Liis Soon, Junior Research Fellow in Philosophy; Mark Fogel, Master’s student; and Nikolai Shurakov, who was a doctoral student in philosophy until 31 December 2025.
The project aims to:
- investigate how readers’ backgrounds and situational contexts affect their interpretation of official texts, such as legislation and guidance;
- use the case of winter road maintenance to examine how organisational structures and working environments shape employees’ understanding of regulations;
- contribute to the development of clearer documents whose meaning remains as consistent as possible across different contexts of use.
The project PRG2151, “The Role of Metacontexts in Stabilising Textual Content: A Case Study of Interpretations of the Estonian Road Maintenance Regulation” (1 January 2024–31 December 2026), is funded by the Estonian Research Council.
Conference "Law's Many Users: Legal Interpretation Within and Beyond Legal Institutions" in Nov 2025
Early Modern Scientific Vocabulary in Estonian
The project aims to create an explanatory Estonian dictionary of early modern scientific terminology. It focuses primarily on terminology used in the territory of present-day Estonia, which has increasingly appeared in Estonian-language scholarly publications in the 21st century. The project is led by Kaarina Rein.
The project has gained particular relevance in the run-up to the University of Tartu’s 400th anniversary. It will make specialist vocabulary—previously requiring separate explanation in each scholarly article—easier to understand and find through entries in an online terminology database. The database will primarily use Estonian and Latin, with parallel terms in Greek, German, French, Swedish and English added where possible.
The project (1 June 2026–31 December 2026) is funded by the Institute of the Estonian Language.
Previous projects until 2020
Project reference: 101094714
Project duration: 1 January 2023–31 December 2025
Funding: €311,163
Coordinating partner: University of Oslo
Project leads at the University of Tartu: Kadri Simm, Associate Professor of Practical Philosophy, and Anu Tammeleht, Research Integrity Methodologist and Trainer at the Ethics Centre
Ethics and integrity are essential to high-quality research and to public trust in science. The BEYOND project supports efforts to uphold the highest standards of research integrity and research ethics, while preventing research misconduct. It explores and develops ways of supporting ethical decision-making at both institutional and individual levels, including educational and regulatory measures, as well as behavioural approaches such as nudging.
Moving beyond the so-called “bad apples” approach that underpins many current measures to prevent misconduct, BEYOND takes an ecosystem perspective on research ethics and integrity. This approach recognises the multiple, interconnected responsibilities of researchers and other stakeholders. The project reviews research on behavioural ethics and moral psychology, examines the socio-economic consequences of research misconduct, and consults widely with relevant stakeholders.
Drawing on these findings, BEYOND develops:
- context-sensitive, psychologically informed interventions to promote research integrity and prevent misconduct, taking account of individual and institutional responsibilities;
- methods for measuring the short-, medium- and long-term impact of research ethics and integrity training on the attitudes and behaviour of students and researchers;
- a good-practice handbook, guidance for improving standard operating procedures from a research-ecosystem perspective, and a roadmap for strengthening research ethics and integrity by 2030;
- new training materials and tools to complement existing educational resources.
BEYOND engages stakeholders through three thematic networks connected to the consortium—ENRIO, EUREC and The Guild—and through its Stakeholder Advisory Board. This helps to ensure that the results are widely disseminated and that the guidance can be effectively adopted and embedded in practice.
Project reference: 101058158
Project duration: 1 June 2022–31 May 2025
Funding: €129,800
Coordinating partner: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Project lead at the University of Tartu: Professor Margit Sutrop, Professor of Practical Philosophy
The IANUS project strengthens warranted trust in science by promoting participation in research as a co-creative and inclusive process that responds to society’s values, concerns and needs. Trust should arise from a transparent and trustworthy process of knowledge creation, grounded in the active involvement and service of society as an integral part of how science operates.
Read more on the University of Tartu Centre for Ethics website.
Project duration: October 2020–2023
Coordinator: Comillas Pontifical University, Spain; ethics partner: the University of Tartu Ethics Centre
Funding: €175,000
The internet has become an integral part of children’s and young people’s lives. As the time they spend online continues to grow, questions arise about the extent to which young people are able to manage their own internet use. Children aged 5–15 spend more than 15 hours online each week, while half of those aged 11–16 have encountered one or more online risks, including cyberbullying, sharing personal information with strangers, self-harm content, inappropriate material and radicalisation.
A major challenge is the limited awareness of online risks and their effects. Fifty-one per cent of European citizens feel that they are not, or not sufficiently, informed about cyber threats, and 86 per cent believe that the risk of falling victim to cybercrime is increasing.
Law-enforcement agencies have observed that more and more young people are committing cybercrimes. One reason is that they may see such acts as harmless or amusing and fail to understand their consequences or the penalties they can carry. Globally, cybercrime is estimated to cause losses of €445 billion each year.
To date, police and other security experts have focused primarily on the technical aspects of cybercrime. Much less attention has been paid to its social and psychological dimensions: who commits these offences, what motivates them, and—perhaps most importantly—why and when such behaviour begins. Understanding the behavioural and developmental aspects of cybercrime is becoming increasingly important, shifting the focus from punishment towards prevention.
The RAYUELA research project brings together law-enforcement agencies, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, legal experts, computer scientists and engineers to develop new methods for understanding the factors that shape online behaviour and cybercrime. It also seeks to harness young people’s talents in the development of cybersecurity and technology.
RAYUELA’s principal aim is to understand the motivations and human factors behind cybercrime. Through play-based learning, it seeks to empower and educate young people—particularly children and teenagers—about the benefits, risks and dangers of internet use, helping to prevent and mitigate cybercrime.
Estonian Research Council team grant 462 (PRG462)
Project duration: April/May 2019–2023
Principal Investigator: Endla Lõhkivi, Associate Professor of Philosophy of Science
The project contributes to a practice-oriented philosophy of science, which understands science as research carried out within historical and cultural contexts. It draws on a practical realist approach to science.
The research focuses on the distinctive features of interdisciplinary work. It uses the theoretical framework of micro-social epistemology, together with a method previously adapted by the research team for the empirical study of scientific cultures. The project examines how research methods are developed in interdisciplinary settings; the opportunities and obstacles involved in fostering interdisciplinarity; the role of researchers’ epistemic identities; and the implications for research assessment.
The dynamics of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research are explored both historically and through contemporary examples from the biosciences, social sciences, chemistry, law, engineering, animal studies, archaeology, the humanities and information-technology-related fields.
Project reference: 101006430
Project duration: 1 March 2021–29 February 2024
Coordinating partner: University of Oslo
Project lead at the University of Tartu: Kadri Simm, Associate Professor of Practical Philosophy
The project critically examines the ethical, philosophical and interdisciplinary dimensions of open science.
The future of science lies in open science: an approach in which research planning, processes, data and results are freely accessible to all stakeholders. Open science can make research more effective and responsive to societal needs, while enabling citizens to participate actively in all aspects of research.
At the same time, it raises new questions about research ethics, research integrity and misconduct. Research misconduct and questionable research practices already occur within existing systems, and similar—or new—forms may also emerge in open science. It is therefore essential to identify and analyse the potential for misconduct across the different areas and disciplines of open science, as well as to examine the ethical, social and legal approaches currently used to address questionable practices.
Only through this analysis can the European research system ensure that ethics and research integrity become integral structural elements of open science.
ROSiE provides this analysis while developing practical tools to support research ethics and integrity in open science. The project brings together a multidisciplinary team of leading experts and organisations in open science, citizen science and research ethics.
Principal Investigator: Kadri Simm, Associate Professor of Practical Philosophy
University of Tartu Centre for Ethics team: Mari-Liisa Parder, Research Fellow in Ethics; Anu Tammeleht, Research Integrity Methodologist and Trainer; and Marvi Remmik, Siim Espenberg, Kadri Lees and Helen Urmann from the Centre for Applied Social Research.
Project duration: 17 January 2023–30 June 2023
Funding: Estonian Research Council, €28,000
The study’s main aim was to develop a methodology for mapping the Estonian research community’s experiences and practices in research ethics, pilot this methodology, and produce an analytical report identifying key issues and potential solutions at both organisational and system-wide levels. The findings support the further development of research ethics in Estonia by helping to identify needs, plan training and oversight, and develop measures to improve organisational culture.
Adherence to research ethics standards is a prerequisite for good research. Values such as honesty and transparency underpin widely shared social norms, while research ethics is also essential for fostering mutual trust between society and the research community. Ethical research supports the epistemic aims of science, and shared standards are fundamental to successful research careers in Estonia and internationally.
Project duration: 8 February 2022–31 January 2023
Project leads: Margit Sutrop, Professor of Practical Philosophy and Head of the Ethics Centre, and Triin Paaver, Administrative Manager of the Ethics Centre
Funding: €40,762
The project aimed to further develop the format and, where necessary, the methodology of dilemma-based values games in order to make them playable in a virtual environment. It focused on the University of Tartu Ethics Centre’s recently developed discussion game, A Hundred Choices of the Estonian People, which uses an original methodology.
Unlike earlier values games designed for teachers, pupils and doctors, A Hundred Choices of the Estonian People helps players understand that moral disagreements may arise not only from differing values, but also from the different considerations people prioritise when making value-based choices and ethical decisions. These may include ethical principles, personal relationships, individual or collective benefit, and the reduction of suffering. Feedback provided after players have made choices in the game’s scenarios helps them reflect on the basis of their ethical decision-making and identify their own approach to ethical reasoning.
All values games developed by the Ethics Centre until then required participants to meet in person and work in groups around a table. The games used printed scenario descriptions and, in some cases, cards, dice, a game board and a box. This printed format limited access, as it depended on people being able to gather in the same place. The widespread COVID-19 pandemic also made it difficult to deliver larger in-person training sessions.
International partners had expressed strong interest in the games, having used them at conferences and seminars, and there had been requests to purchase translated versions. However, the games’ complex format and high production costs posed obstacles. Since producing paper-based game materials and packaging is not environmentally sustainable, the project proposed making the games available in a virtual environment. This would also support their further development with international partners and within larger consortia through joint project applications.
CEES was supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund in the years 2016–2023.
The Centre brought together 15 research groups, comprising more than 60 doctoral researchers and over 50 postgraduate students from the Estonian Literary Museum, the University of Tartu (in the fields of humanities and arts, and natural and exact sciences), the Institute of the Estonian Language, Tallinn University, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, and the Institute of Cybernetics at Tallinn University of Technology.
Research at the Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies focused on:
a) Estonian society and culture, including phenomena with emblematic significance: the Estonian language and its many varieties and dialects; regilaul verse; song festivals and the choral movement; distinctive poetic traditions; and sacred sites;
b) Estonian diaspora communities and ethnic groups, particularly Russian-speaking Estonians, Old Believers, Finno-Ugric minorities, and neighbouring and contact groups;
c) global cultural trends and local variations of global cultural phenomena, including epics, humour and mythology, as well as reinvented and modernised forms such as punk song festivals;
d) contemporary culture, including transmedia texts and practices.
The Centre carried out a wide-ranging study of the linguistic and cultural structures of ethnic groups in Estonia. It analysed their content and philosophical foundations and developed models for:
- the dynamics and cultural diversity of transnational phenomena and processes;
- local cultural patterns and philosophies created by different groups and communities, and their development over time;
- historical and contemporary trajectories of cultural diversity; categories of historical variation, including ethnic, conceptual, confessional, linguistic and communicative variation; and the movement of innovations through earlier cultural patterns;
- forms of linguistic behaviour and practice.
Projekti kestvus: aprill/mai 2018–2020
Koordinaator: European Science Foundation
Summa: 162 250 EUR
PRO-RES projekti üldine eesmärk on ehitada üles teaduseetika ja hea teaduse raamistik, mis oleks kavandatud koostöös kõikide relevantsete sidusgruppidega ning nende jaoks vastuvõetav ja mis oleks sarnane Oviedo konventsiooni ja Helsingi deklaratsiooniga.
PRO-RES kavatseb kasutada varasemaid põhimõtete sõnastusi, mida on toetanud Euroopa Liit ja muud rahvuslikud ja rahvusvahelised organisatsioonid. Projekt loob seoseid põhimõtete olemasolevate sõnastustega, kuid samal ajal selleks, et olla püsiv ja jätkusuutlik, peab tulemus olema ka piisavalt paindlik olemaks võimeline rahuldama ka oodatavaid tulevasi vajadusi. Vastavalt on raamistik kavandatud mitmetasemelisena, alustades lihtsast sissejuhatavast "aluspõhimõtete" tasemest, jätkates rohkem tausta ning selgitusi esitavate tasemetega ning lõpetades otsuste langetamise keerukamate abivahenditega hilisematel etappidel. Selline ülesehitus tagab, et algus ei tekita hirmu teaduseetika ja hea teaduse nõuete arusaamise raskuste ees, kuid samal ajal uuritakse täies mahus põhimõtete selgitavaid põhjendusi.
Projekti kestus: 1.01.2017 – 31.12.2020
Projektijuht: Francesco Orsi
Täitjad: Karel Pajus ja Sitjn van Gorkum
Taotluse eesmärk on arendada uus metodoloogiline lähenemine metaeetikas, mida nimetan "praktiliseks metaeetikaks". Peamine põhimõte on järgnev. Eetika olemust ja eetilist otsustust puudutavate traditsiooniliste filosoofiliste küsimuste vastamisel peaksime tähele panema sellist tõendikogumit, mida nimetan "moraaliotsustuse eetikaks". Selle all mõeldakse ideede kogumit selle kohta, kuidas on kohustuslik, keelatud, lubatud või mõistlik käituda siis, kui tegeldakse eetilise aruteluga nii oma kui teiste inimeste tegude üle, kas kahekõnes või ka üksinda. Metaeetilisi küsimusi (nt. Kas on moraalsed toed objektiivsed?) saab siis uurida selle metodoloogilise printsiibi valguses: moraaliotsustuse metaeetika peab olema kooskõlas moraaliotsustuse eetikaga. Projekt koosneb kahest komplementaarsest osast:
- i) Moraaliotsustuse eetika mitme külje detailne analüüs.
- ii) Viimase alusel erinevate metaeetika teooriate kriitiline ringvaade ja võrdlus.
Kestvus: 2019 – 2021
Projektijuht: Universitat Ramon Llull (Spain)
Eesti partnerid: TÜ eetikakeskus (Kadri Simm, Margit Sutrop) ja Technopolis Group.
Projekti veebileht
IKT süsteemidel põhinev uudse tervishoiusüsteemi areng nõuab suuremat koostööd tervishoiutöötajate ja patsientide ning tehnoloogiaekspertide vahel, et tuvastada andmed ja informatsioon, mis on väärtuslikud tervishoiuteenuste pakkumisel ning jätta välja info, mis on kahjulik, ebakorrektne, sertifitseerimata, testimata või mis võib olla takistuseks patsiendile oma tervisega seotud otsuste tegemisel ning fundamentaalsete inimõiguste kaitsel. Hetkel valitseb puudus tehnoloogiaekspertidest ja inseneridest, kes tunnevad tervishoiuteenuste spetsiifilisi eetilisi mõjusid. Samal ajal on tervishoiukorraldajad tõrksad muudatuste osas, mida tehnoloogia kaasamine kaasa toob.
Projekti partnerid tajuvad selles olukorras, et meditsiinivaldkonna IKT ettevõtted ja tuleviku tööandjad peavad kasvatama tehnoloogilisi oskusi ja eetilist kompetentsi, et digitaalne tervishoiu innovatsioon rakenduks humanistlikul viisil. Nende vajaduste adresseerimiseks loob ATHIKA võimalused innovaatiliseks väljaõppeks, mille eesmärk on kasvatada IKT innovatsiooni ja ettevõtmiste edukat rakendumist Euroopa tervishoiuvaldkonnas.
ATHIKA loob koolitusprogrammi, kuhu kaasatakse akadeemilised ringkonnad, rahvatervise üksused, väikesed ja keskmised ettevõtted, start-up’id, ettevõtjad ja ärikonsultandid. Partnerite mitmekesisus tagab tervikliku nägemuse tervishoiusektorist ja võimaldab tuvastada kõige pakilisemad väljakutsed. Partnerid juhendavad tudengeid nende väljaõppe jooksul. Koostöösse on kaasatud erineva taustaga tudengid eri kõrgkoolidest, töötamaks välja uudseid tehnikaid ja eetilistele nõuetele vastavaid lahendusi. ATHIKA seob omavahel väljaõppe võistluslike tegevustega vastavates töötubades ja sümpoosionidel, kus vahetatakse projekti tulemusi, teadmisi ja õppetunde, mida partnerid, tudengid ja teised tervishoiuvaldkonna sidusrühmad üle Euroopa omandanud on.
Kestvus: 1.09.2019 – 31.08.2021
Vastutav täitja: James S. Pearson
Euroopa jätkuva rändekriisi ja kaasaegse multikulturalismiga seotud sügavate väärtuskonfliktide tõttu on kultuurilise integratsiooni ja koostöö probleem silmanähtavam kui kunagi varem. Esitan sotsiaalpoliitilise kõrvalejätmise funktsiooni analüüsi, et edendada selle ühildumist/kooskõlastamist. Praegusel ajal on filosoofid kõrvalejätmise olemuse ja väärtuse hindamisel teravalt lahknenud. Ühelt poolt on neid, kes, pidades lugu ühiskondliku elukorralduse parandamisest, peavad kultuuriliste väärtuste kõrvalejätmist ja indiviide, kes taolisi väärtusi kannavad, moraalselt väärastunuteks ning isegi kontraproduktiivseteks. On ka palju neid, kes, vastupidi, peavad poliitilist kõrvalejätmist sine qua non harmooniliselt toimiva poliitika aluseks. Käesolevas uurimuses hindan kriitiliselt argumente, mida tuuakse poliitilise kõrvalejätmise poolt ja vastu, eesmärgiga konstrueerida filosoofiliselt koherentne mudel, näidates, kuidas selline kõrvalejätmine toimib sotsiaalpoliitilise hädavajadusena.
PUT732 "Essentsialism interdistsiplinaarse uurimistöö kontekstis: teaduskogukonnas esinevate stereotüüpide filosoofiline ja kultuuriline analüüs" (1.01.2015−31.12.2018)
Vastutav täitja: Endla Lõhkivi
Finantseerija: Sihtasutus Eesti Teadusagentuur
Eraldatud summa: 175 200 EUR.
Projekti raames uurisime kultuurilisi asjaolusid, mis tingivad kommunikatsiooniraskusi erinevate teadusalade esindajate vahel või teadlaste ja mitteteadlaste vahel nende ühistes projektides. Intervjueerisime poolstruktureeritud intervjuu meetodiga erinevate interdistsiplinaarsete (ID) uurimisrühmade esindajaid. Kui laialdaselt on peetud peamiseks mõistelisi raskusi, kasutatavate mõistete erinevaid tähendusi eri distsipliinides, ja ühise keele loomise vajadust, siis meie uuringus selgus, et keel on ainult üks aspekt kommunikatsioonihäirete tekkimisel. Uurida tuleb ID uurimistöö praktika kõiki aspekte - näiteks teadustöö eesmärgi püstitust, selle tähendust ID rühma erinevate osapoolte jaoks, meetodi valikut, meetodi rakendamist, andmete mõistmist ja kasutamist, mudelite loomist ja nende rolli mõistmist, teadlase identiteeti ja selle seost meetodi ja objekti valikul, teadlaste edustrateegiaid ja koostöömustreid, teaduse hindamise erinevaid aspekte. Erineva erialase taustaga teadlased pigem jätkavad ülesannete lahendamist erialapädevuste piires, kui teevad jõupingutusi uue ID lähenemise kujundamiseks. See tuleneb osalt ka hindamise aluseks olevatest standarditest, mis soosivad distsiplinaarsust. Ehkki tänapäeval arvatakse, et paljud teaduslikku lahendust ootavad probleemid eeldavad interdistsiplinaarset käsitlemist, on ID uurimistöö korraldamine aeganõudev ja keerukas ülesanne. Seetõttu on see teadusfilosoofia jaoks kasulikuks näiteks teaduse kognitiivse ja sotsiaalse aspekti, teadusliku teadmise ja teaduskorralduse vahelistest seostest. Teaduse sotsiaalses epistemoloogias on juba varem näidatud seoseid teaduse kommunikatsiooni ja objektiivsuse vahel. ID rühmade töökorralduse ja episteemilise kultuuri uurimine võimaldas meil nende seoste iseloomu täpsustada erinevate juhtumite näitel. Projekt võimaldas teadusfilosoofia rühmal arendada empiirilise teaduskultuuri uurimise meetodeid ja ühtlasi arutleda teadusfilosoofia enda kui distsipliini rolli üle ID uurimistöös.
