Organized by Prof. John Michael and Dr. Angelica Kaufmann
Weekly meetings will take place on Zoom on Thursdays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (US Central Time) beginning on September 11, 2025. There will be at least 8 seminar sessions.
Content
When we commit to something—a person, a goal, a belief, a principle, or a decision—we make a choice or a promise and thereby select some opportunities for action over others, reducing complexity in our orientation. Commitment is, like resoluteness or decisiveness, a way of orienting oneself in which we no longer change a decision in one ‘point’ and no longer take further footholds into account, even when new situations suggest otherwise. For Stegmaier, resoluteness or decisiveness is “a self-referential decision about decisions.” To commit means to take a position in a situation in relation to goals, values, actions, and other people in such a way that doing so shapes the future actions and possibilities of oneself and others. We will explore commitment as a mode of orientation, asking what we do when we commit, and how commitment shapes our actions, values, relationships, and identities over time. What is commitment? What mental, social, and practical processes does it involve? What happens when we break, revise, or struggle to uphold a commitment?
Drawing on the philosophy of orientation, along with recent research in psychology, philosophy, and comparative cognition, this seminar investigates how commitment emerges through interaction and decision-making, and how it is sustained—or sometimes destabilized—over time. We will examine the roles that habits, emotions, and moral norms play in upholding commitments, and how these processes are shaped by one’s sense of identity, capacities for control, and motivational structures. The seminar will also consider whether nonhuman animals exhibit forms of commitment, and what this reveals about the cognitive and social foundations of committed behavior. We will explore commitment through the following themes:
- A phenomenology of commitment
- The evolution of species
- Commitment in social contexts and communication
- Individual decision-making and personal coherence
- The automation of commitment into routines
- Moral commitments and societal norms
- Orientation, identity, and the virtues of commitment
This seminar is discussion-based; this means participants are expected to read the respective passages before the sessions. The seminar is free. But the number of participants may be limited. Please apply by September 02, 2025, via the application form below by briefly explaining 1.) your affiliation and professional/academic background, 2.) your philosophical interests, and 3.) your motivation for joining the seminar (max. 50 words per field).