Research

My main area of specialisation is philosophy of language, epistemology, logic, and argumentation theory. I am interested in how to make philosophy fruitful to societal issues and in how to teach philosophy to students in universities and schools. Part of my research concerns thus questions of applied philosophy, philosophy of education, and the didactics of philosophy.

My current research focus

I am particularly interested in how (and whether) people change their convictions based on rational argumentation. Are good arguments ultimately convincing also to someone who does not share one’s beliefs already? How are we to deal with people who believe in “alternative facts?” Are there specific argumentative practices tied to modern populism, or is it all rhetoric?

At the moment I am examining how argumentative abilities can be effectively acquired and taught in schools and universities and how the teaching of the epistemic and reflective competencies of philosophy can help to counter fake news and populism.

Selected Publications

Books

• Lanius, David (2019): Strategic Indeterminacy in the Law, New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Review in the Journal of Applied Philosophy by Quentin du Plessis (2020)
  • Review in the International Journal of Speech, Language, and the Law by Hesam Mohamadi (2020)
  • Book Symposion in the Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung (2021):
    • Précis zu: Strategic Indeterminacy in the Law
    • Unbestimmtheit ohne Bestimmtheit: Kommentar zu Strategic Indeterminacy in the Law by Dietmar von der Pfordten
    • Vom rechtswissenschaftlichen Umgang mit semantischer Unbestimmtheit: Kommentar zu David Lanius’ Strategic Indeterminacy in the Law by Carsten Bäcker
    • Replik zu den Kommentaren
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (2019): Die Wahrheit schafft sich ab. Wie Fake News Politik machen, Ditzingen: Reclam.

Articles

• Lanius, David (2022): Argumentationskompetenz im Philosophie- und Ethikunterricht vermitteln: Was wir dafür brauchen. Zeitschrift für Didaktik der Philosophie und Ethik (1): 7-23.
• Lanius, David (2021): Wie sollten Lehrende mit Fake News und Verschwörungstheorien im Unterricht umgehen? In: Dürfen Lehrer ih­re Meinung sagen? Demokratische Bildung und die Kontroverse über Kontroversitätsgebote (hrsg. von Johannes Drerup, Miguel Zulaica y Mugica und Douglas Yacek). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer: 188-208. [pdf]
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (2021): “Speaking of Fake News: Definitions and Dimensions” in Amy Flowerree et al. (eds.): The Epistemology of Fake News, Oxford: Oxford University Press: 19-45.
• Lanius, David (2021): “What Is the Value of Vagueness?” Theoria 87 (3): 752-780. [pdf]
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (2021): “Wenn Wahrheit wertlos wird – Demonstrativer Bullshit in der digitalisierten Öffentlichkeit” in Monika Waldis et al. (eds.): Politische Bildung für die «neue» Öffentlichkeit?, Heidelberg: Springer: 175-195. [pdf]
• Lanius, David (2020): “Argumentative Patterns of Right-Wing Populism: The Example of the ‘Alternative for Germany'” in Catarina Dutilh Novaes et al. (eds.): Reason to Dissent: Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Argumentation, Groningen: College Publications: 77-98. [pdf]
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (2020): “Schlechte Nachrichten: Fake News in Politik und Öffentlichkeit” in Ralf Hohlfeld et al. (eds.): Fake News und Desinformation: Herausforderungen für die vernetzte Gesellschaft und die empirische Forschung, Baden-Baden: Nomos: 245-267. [pdf]
• Lanius, David (2020): “Meinungsfreiheit und die kommunikative Strategie der Rechtspopulisten” in Tanjev Schultz (ed.): Was darf man sagen? Meinungsfreiheit im Zeitalter des Populismus, Stuttgart: Kohlhammer: 75-112. [pdf]
• Betz, Gregor & David Lanius (2020): “Philosophy of science for science communication in twenty-two questions” in Annette Leßmöllmann et al. (eds.): Science Communication, Berlin: De Gruyter: 3-28.
• Votsis, Ioannis & David Lanius (2019): Towards Foolproof Democracy: Improving Public Debate and Political Decision-Making (eds.). Moral Philosophy and Politics 6 (2): 203-209.
• Lanius, David (2019): “Intuitions and Values: Re-assessing the classical arguments against quantitative hedonism”, Kriterion 34 (2):53-84. [pdf]
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (2018): “What Is Fake News?”, Versus 2 (127):207-227. [pdf]
• Lanius, David (2017): Wie argumentieren Rechtspopulisten? Eine Argumentationsanalyse des AfD-Wahlprogramms, ITZ: Diskussionspapiere. [pdf]

Not yet published

• Jaster, Romy & Lanius, David (forthcoming): The Concept of Fake News“ in Alex Wiegmann et al. (ed.): Lying, Fake News, and Bullshit, London: Bloomsbury.
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (forthcoming): Was ist Wissen? In: Theoretisches Philosophieren und Lebensweltorientierung (ed. Bettina Bussmann). To be published 2022 with Metzler.
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (manuscript): Conspiracy theories: how weird must one be to believe weird things?
• Jaster, Romy & David Lanius (manuscript): Bullshit, Norms, and Politics.
• Kazmaier, Kathrin & David Lanius (manuscript): Argumentationskompetenzen vermitteln: Der Deutsch- und Philosophieunterricht im Vergleich.