Henry Krahn Postdoctoral Fellow Resident at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: October 2025 – July 2026 Research topic at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: »Protest and Deep Moral Change« Project outline: Philosophers writing about moral change often focus on change in some morally salient aspect of society: for example, the abolition of slavery, or the modern recognition of LGBTQ+ rights. But perhaps not all moral change is merely social change. As philosophers like Joseph Raz and Thomas Nagel argue, morality may depend on our ability to access it, and we may come to have moral reasons in the future that we do not, and could not, have now. Thus, what is morally true may also change over time. The possibility of this kind of moral change, or deep moral change, raises troubling questions. First, how might deep moral change be possible? Second, is deep moral change itself morally neutral? Or is it something we can morally evaluate? This project will undertake the first sustained philosophical investigation of deep moral change. To do so, it will focus on radical social movements as intentional efforts to alter the moral landscape. (Henry Krahn) Research partner: Henry Krahn follows the invitation of Rainer Forst, Professor of Political theory at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, and the Justitia Center for Advanced Studies funded by the Alfons and Gertrud Kassel Foundation. Scholarly profile of Henry KrahnHenry Krahn is a philosopher working on issues at the boundary of moral and political philosophy. Prior to the Justitia Center fellowship at Goethe University Frankfurt, he was a Hauser Post-Doctoral Global Fellow at the New York University School of Law, affiliated with the Center for Law and Philosophy. He received his PhD at the University of Toronto in the Department of Philosophy in May 2024. The title of his dissertation is »Protest as Holding Others Accountable«.Website: Selected publications:
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