Prof. Dr Christoph JÄGER
Head of Department, Praeses Institutum Philosophicum Oenipontanum
Head of the Doctoral programmes Philosophy of Religion
Department of Christian Philosophy
Karl-Rahner-Platz 1 (1st floor, room 118)
A-6020 Innsbruck
Phone: +43 512 507-85020
Fax: +43 512 507-85099
E-mail: christoph.jaeger@uibk.ac.at
Research Areas:
- (Social) epistemology
- Theory of emotions
- free will
- Aesthetics
- Philosophy of the Middle Ages
A detailed list of publications can be found at here.
Studied philosophy at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, the University of Hamburg and, as a doctoral scholarship holder of German National Academic Foundation,, at Oxford University (Magdalen College).
Magister Artium in Philosophy 1992 at Westphalian Wilhelms University of Münster Münster(with honours);
Doctorate in 1994 in Münster with a thesis on self-reference and self-consciousness(summa cum laude).
Research Assistant (C1) at the Department of Philosophy at University of Leipzig.
2001 Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Georgetown University, Washington DC.
2003 Habilitation in philosophy at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy in Leipzig, venia legendi for philosophy. Heisenberg Fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
2005-2010 Univ. Lecturer in Philosophy at King's College, University of Aberdeen.
2007 James Collins Visiting Professor at the Department of Philosophy at St. Louis University, then Visiting Professor at the Department of Christian Philosophy at the University of Innsbruck.
Since 2014 University Professor of Philosophy there, specialising in epistemology and medieval philosophy.
Reviewer for the international journals, among others: Acta Analytica, American Philosophical Quarterly; Analysis; Australasian Journal of Philosophy; Canadian Journal of Philosophy; Realisation; Faith and Philosophy; Philosophical Studies in Graz; Journal of Consciousness Studies; Journal of Philosophical Research;Mind; Philosophical Quarterly;Philosophical Studies; Ratio; Religious Studies; Social Epistemology; Synthesis
True Enough? Themes from Elgin, hrsg. mit Federica I. Malfatti, Topical Collection/Special Issue von Synthese (2020)
Göttlicher Plan und menschliche Freiheit. Luis de Molina, Concordia, Disputatio 52, lat.-deutsch, eingeleitet, übersetzt, kommentiert und herausgegeben von Christoph Jäger, Hans Kraml und Gerhard Leibold, Hamburg: Philosophische Bibliothek Felix Meiner, 2018
Epistemology: Contexts, Values, Disagreement. Proceedings of the 34th International Ludwig Wittgenstein-Symposium in Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria 2011. Publications of the Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society. New Series 19, (Hrsg.) mit Winfried Löffler, Heusenstamm b. Frankfurt - Lancaster: Ontos-Verlag. 2012
Contextualisms in Epistemology, (ed.) with Elke Brendel, Dordrecht 2005 (Springer)
Kunst und Erkenntnis, (ed.) with Georg Meggle, Paderborn 2005 (mentis)
Rechtfertigung und religiöser Glaube (Justification and Religious Belief), Habilitationsschrift, Leipzig 2003
Selbstreferenz und Selbstbewusstsein (Self-Reference and Self-Knowledge), Paderborn 1999 (mentis)
Analytische Religionsphilosophie, (Ed.) Paderborn 1998 (UTB)
Intellectual Authority and Education, forthcoming in The Epistemology of Experts, hrsg. v. Anna-Maria Eder, Peter Broessel, und Thomas Grundmann, Routledge (2026)
Epistemic Authority, Oxford Handbook of Social Epistemology, hrsg. v. Jennifer Lackey & Aidan McGlynn (2025)
Testimonial Authority and Knowledge Transmission, with Nicholas Shackel, Social Epistemology (2025).
False Authorities, Acta Analytica 39 (2024), 643-661.
The Social Fabric of Understanding: Equilibrium, Authority, and Epistemic Empathy, mit Federica I. Malfatti, Synthese (2020).
Religious Experience and the Probability of Theism: Comments on Swinburne, Religious Studies 53 (2017), 353-370; Replik von Richard Swinburne, Religious Studies 53 (2017), 403-418.
Fischer's Fate with Fatalism, European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9 (2017), 25–38, doi:10.24204/ejpr.v9i4.2027, Replik von John Martin Fischer, European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9 (2017)
Epistemic Authority, Preemptive Reasons, and Understanding, Episteme 13 (2016), Replik von Linda Zagzebski ("Replies to Christoph Jäger and Lizzie Fricker"), Episteme 13 (2016)
Looking Into Meta-Emotions, mit Eva Bänninger-Huber, Synthese 192 (2015), 787-811
Contextualism and the Knowledge Norm of Assertion, Analysis 72/3 (2012), 491 - 498
Reliabilism and the Extra Value of Knowledge, mit Wayne Davis, Philosophical Studies 157 (2012), 93-105
Reliability and Future True Belief: Reply to Olsson and Jönsson, Theoria 77 (2011)
Process Reliabilism and the Value Problem, Theoria 77 (2011), Replik von Erik J. Olsson und Martin L. Jönsson ("Kinds of Learning and the Likelihood of Future True Beliefs: Reply to Jäger on Reliabilism and the Value Problem"), Theoria 77 (2011)
Moderater erkenntnistheoretischer Naturalismus und der Wert des Wissens, Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie 133, 3/4 (2011), 422-441.
Göttlicher Plan und menschliche Freiheit: Vorsehung und 'Mittleres Wissen' bei Luis de Molina, Philosophisches Jahrbuch 117 (2010)
Affective Ignorance, Erkenntnis 71 (2009)
Epistemische Rationalität und Alstons Theorie mystischer Wahrnehmung, Zeitschrift für Katholische Theologie 131 (2009), 396–413
Why to Believe Weakly in Weak Knowledge, Grazer Philosophische Studien 79 (2009)
Determinismus und Verantwortung: Was kann das Konsequenzargument?, Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie 57 (2009
Is Coherentism Coherent?, Analysis 67 (2007)
Drei Konsequenzargumente für eine inkompatibilistische Theorie moralischer Verantwortung, Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 60 (2006)
Meta-Emotions, with Anne Bartsch, Grazer Philosophische Studien 73 (2006)
Emotionale Verdrängung und Autorität der Ersten Person, Philosophie der Psychologie 4 (2006), (Internetzeitschrift), mit Anne Bartsch
Religiöse Erfahrung und epistemische Zirkularität, Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie (2005), S. 223-238
Warrant, Defeaters, and the Epistemic Basis of Religious Belief, in Scientific Explanation and Religious Belief, ed. Michael Parker and Thomas Schmidt, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005
Skepticism, Information, and Closure, Erkenntnis 61 (2004); Repliken von Fred Dretske (“Information and Closure”), Nicholas Shackel (“Shutting Dretske's Door”) und Peter Baumann (“Information, Closure, And Knowledge: On Jäger's Objection to Dretske”), sämtlich in Erkenntnis 64 (2006)
Contextualist Approaches to Epistemology: Problems and Prospects, mit Elke Brendel, Erkenntnis 61 (2004)
Introspektion und emotionale Abwehr, Erwägen, Wissen, Ethik 4 (2002), S. 542-544
Reformierte Erkenntnistheorie, Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 55 (2001), S. 491-515
"Falsche Autoritäten" in: R. Hauswald; P. Schmechtig (Hgg.), Wissensproduktion und Wissenstransfer unter erschwerten Bedingungen. Der Einfluss der Corona-Krise auf die Erzeugung und Vermittlung von Wissen im öffentlichen Diskurs, Freiburg i.Br.: Verlag Karl Alber 2022, S. 219-243.
"Fundamentalismus", in Handbuch Erkenntnistheorie, hg. Martin Grajner und Guido Melchior, Stuttgart, Metzler-Verlag 2019
"Der Wert des Wissens", mit Federica Isabella Malfatti, in Handbuch Erkenntnistheorie, hg. Martin Grajner und Guido Melchior, Stuttgart, Metzler-Verlag 2019
"Molina und das Problem des theologischen Determinismus", in Luis de Molina: Göttlicher Plan und menschliche Freiheit -- Concordia, Disputatio 52, lat.-deutsch, eingeleitet, übersetzt, kommentiert und herausgegeben von Christoph Jäger, Hans Kraml und Gerhard Leibold, Hamburg: Philosophische Bibliothek Felix Meiner, 2018, XIII-CLXXVIII
"Kommentar zur Concordia, Abhandlung 52", mit Hans Kraml und Gerhard Leibold, in Luis de Molina: Göttlicher Plan und menschliche Freiheit -- Concordia, disputatio 52, lat.-deutsch, eingeleitet, übersetzt, kommentiert und herausgegeben von Christoph Jäger, Hans Kraml und Gerhard Leibold, Hamburg: Philosophische Bibliothek Felix Meiner, 2018, 85-228
"Gibt es in Gott Wissen über kontingentes Zukünftiges, und inwiefern sind mit diesem Wissen Entscheidungsfreiheit und die Kontingenz der Dinge vereinbar?", mit Hans Kraml und Gerhard Leibold, Übersetzung von Luis de Molina, Concordia, disputatio 52, Luis de Molina: Göttlicher Plan und menschliche Freiheit -- Concordia, disputatio 52, lat.-deutsch, eingeleitet, übersetzt, kommentiert und herausgegeben von Christoph Jäger, Hans Kraml und Gerhard Leibold, Hamburg: Philosophische Bibliothek Felix Meiner, 2018, 1-83
“Glaube, Wissen, und rationales Hoffen”, in Geschichte - Gesellschaft - Geltung, XXIII Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie, 28. September - 2. Oktober 2014 an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Kolloquienbeiträge, hrsg. v. Michael Quante, unter Mitarbeit v. Nadine Mooren und Tanja Uekötter, Hamburg: Felix Meiner, 2016, 501-517
"Scientia media und der Einwand der mangelnden Wahrheitsgrundlagen", in Denken im Dialog mit der Geschichte -- Gerhard Leibold zum 70. Geburtstag (Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie 137, 2015, 3-22)
“Das Konsequenzargument”, in Klassische Argumentationen der Philosophie, hrsg. von Rolf W. Puster, Paderborn: mentis Verlag, 2013, 275-296
“Scientia media and Freedom to Do Otherwise”, in The Ways Things Are - Studies in Ontology, hrsg. v. Christian Kanzian, Winfried Löffler und Josef Quitterer, Heusenstamm: Ontos Verlag, 2011
“Molina on Foreknowledge and Transfer of Necessities”, in God, Eternity, and Time, hrsg. von Christian Tapp und Edmund Runggaldier, Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011
Augustinus über Emotionen und Meta-Emotionen, in Im Drama des Lebens Gott begegnen - Einblicke in die Theologie Jósef Niewiadomskis, Festschrift für Jósef Niewiadomski aus Anlass seines 60sten Geburtstags, hg. v. Nikolaus Wandinger u. Petra Steinmair-Pösel, Wien u. Münster: LIT-Verlag, 2011, 587-606
“Der Einwand der mangelnden Begründung”, in Die Tradition einer Zukunft - Perspektiven der Religionsphilosophie, hrsg. von Florian Uhl, Graal-Müritz: Parerga, 2011
"Prolegomena zu einer philosophischen Theorie der Meta-Emotionen" mit Anne Bartsch, in Leben mit Gefühlen – Emotionen, Werte, und ihre Kritik, Barbara Merker (Hrsg.), mentis-Verlag, Paderborn, 2009, S. 113-137
"Warrant, Defeaters, and the Epistemic Basis of Religious Belief", in Scientific Explanation and Religious Belief, hrsg. von Michael Parker und Thomas Schmidt, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005
"Kunst, Kontext und Erkenntnis", in Kunst und Erkenntnis, hrsg. von Christoph Jäger und Georg Meggle, Paderborn: mentis Verlang, 2005
“Epistemic Deontology, Doxastic Voluntarism, and the Principle of Alternate Possibilities”, in Knowledge and Belief, Proceedings of the 26th International Wittgenstein Symposium Kirchberg/Wechsel, hrsg. von Winfried Löffler und Paul Weingartner, Vienna 2004
“Wittgenstein über Gewissheit und religiösen Glauben”, in Die Sprachen der Religion/The Languages of Religion, hrsg. von Artur Boelderl, München: Parerga, 2003
“Privileged Access and Repression”, mit Anne Bartsch, in Die Moralität der Gefühle, hrsg. von Sabine Döring und Verena Mayer, Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2002
“Religious Experience and Epistemic Justification: Alston on the Reliability of 'Mystical Perception'”, in Argument und Analyse, hrsg. von C. Ulisses Moulines und Karl-Georg Niebergall, Paderborn: mentis Verlag, 2002
"Analytische Religionsphilosophie: Eine Einführung", in Analytische Religionsphilosophie, hrsg. von C. Jäger, Paderborn 1998 (UTB)
"Religionsphilosophie in der Tradition Romano Guardinis", Interview mit der KNA, in Islamische Zeitung, Berlin, 11.05.2022
"Krieg in Europa", Nachtrag zum Interview mit Patricia Löwe vom 17.02.2022, Guardini Akut, 10.03.2022
"Nicht den Verstand verlieren", Interview mit Patricia Löwe, Guardini-Stiftung Berlin, 17.02.2022
"Hoffen wider die Hoffnung", Zur Debatte 54 (2024), 84-95
2026
- Pseudo-Authorities, lecture at the conference The Future of Democracy - Philosophical and Theological Perspectives, 26.2.-28.2.2026 in Brixen
- Rationales Hoffen, round table short lecture and discussion at the symposium on the 90th birthday of Peter Rohs, 11-12 January 2026, University of Münster
- Determinism and the hard/soft fact distinction, 9-10 January 2026, University of Vienna
2025
- Meta-Emotions and the Unity of the SelfOnline lecture, 3 December, North Park University & Philosophy Club, Chicago
- Wittgenstein's Lectures on Religious Belief, online lecture in the series Analytical Philosophy of Religion and Theology after Frege and Wittgenstein, 2 Dec, University of Lucerne
- False Authorities, lecture in the series Truth, Trust, and Democracy, 25 June, University of Innsbruck
- Partial Belief and Testimonial Knowledge Generation, with Nicholas Shackel, Bled Epistemology Conference, 4.6.2025
2024
- Teachers are Authorities, 31.10.2024, international book symposium Expert Authority and the Limits of Critical Thinking, organised by Federica I. Malfatti and Christoph Jäger, on the book of the same name by Thomas Grundmann, 30-31.10.2024, University of Innsbruck
- Hope, Optimism, and Despair", lecture at the 3rd meeting of the DFG network Religion and the Emotions, organised by Hartmut von Sass, 20-22.3.2024, HU Berlin
- Intellectual Authority and Education, 1.3, Philosophical Seminar of the University of Cologne, online lecture
- Meta-Emotions and the Unity of the Self-- Augustinian Analyses, Farewell Lecture in the context of the Guardini Professorship, 13.2.2024, Humboldt University, Berlin
2023
- False Authorities, 6 October 2023, Conference New Waves in the Philosophy of Epistemic Authority and Expert Testimony, 5-6 October 2023, TU Dresden
- Lecture at the conference The Philosophy of the Humanities, 23-25.8.2023, organised by René van Woudenberg, Rick Peels and Stephen Grimm, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- Socratic Authority and Understanding, 18.7.2023, Conference Understanding: One or Many?, organised by Federica I. Malfatti and Alfredo Vernazzani, 18.-20.7, University of Bochum
- Hoffnung als Handlungsgrund, 15-17 June 2023, lecture at the "Guardinitag", on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Romano Guardini's inaugural lecture at Humboldt University
- Fraud Authority, 5.6.2023, Bled Epistemology Conference " Ignorance, Vice, and Bias", 5-9 June, Bled, Slovenia
- False Authorities, 26 April 2023, Lecture at the opening of the semester at the Department of Philosophy at Humboldt University
- Word Giving and Testimonial Uptake, with Nicholas Shackel, 27-29 March 2023, lecture at the international book symposium "Epistemic Ecology", with Kate Elgin (Harvard University), Humboldt University
2022
- Fundamentals of a Philosophy of Religion of Hope, Lectio Guardini, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 18 October 2022
- Time, philosophy and time-philosophy in Edgar Reitz's "Heimat" epic, lecture on 18 September 2022 at the Arri cinema, Munich, on the occasion of Edgar Reitz's 90th birthday, as part of the revival of his film epic "Die Zweite Heimat - Chronik einer Jugend" and the book premiere of his autobiography "Filmzeit, Lebenszeit", 2022
- Ideas on a procedural epistemology of epistemic authority, workshop on transcendental philosophy, 8 September 2022 in Dubrovnik
- Socratic Authority as a Model of Religious Authority? Symposium on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Institute for Catholic Theology at the Humboldt University of Berlin, 20-21 March 2022
- Socratic authority, elenchus, and understanding, lecture at the workshop Authority and Autonomy, 10-11 March 2022, University of Innsbruck
- Faith and Reason, weekend seminar of the interdisciplinary Studienkolleg of the University of Tübingen Religion and Worldview in the Scientific Age, co-taught with René van Woudenberg, 29-30 April 2022
2021
- Epistemic Authority, colloquium by Geert Keil at the Department of Philosophy at Humboldt University (online), 18 November 2022, Humboldt University, Berlin
- Are preemptive reasons source-sensitive defeaters?, Cologne Summer School in Philosophy 2021, 3 August 2022, University of Cologne (online)
- Epistemic Authority, Research Seminar, Department of Philosophy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 8 June 2021 (online)
2019
- Epistemic Authority and Understanding, 12 July 2019, Symposium: Analytical Explications and Interventions, Salzburg (by invitation)
- Epistemic Authority and Understanding, 10 April 2019, Philosophical Colloquium at the University of Erfurt (by invitation)
- Epistemic Authority and Understanding, Workshop Epistemic Trust in the Epistemology of Expert Testimony, 7 March 2019, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (keynote, by invitation)
2018
- Epistemic Authority, Reflective Equilibrium, and Understanding, with Federica Malfatti, lecture at the international book symposium True Enough?, with Catherine Z. Elgin, 22-23.32018, University of Innsbruck
- Comment on Paul Faulkner "On Conversion", 1st Social Epistemology Network Conference, 23-24 May 2018, University of Oslo (by invitation)
- Fake Authorities, lecture at the international conference Fake Knowledge, 1 - 2 June, University of Cologne (keynote, by invitation)
- Subverting Epistemic Submission, with Nicholas Shackel, lecture at the international conference of the European Epistemology Network, 28-30 June 2019, Free University of Amsterdam (by invitation)
- "Facing Meta-Emotions", lecture at the farewell symposium for Eva Bänninger-Huber, Department of Psychology, 6-7 September 2019, University of Innsbruck (by invitation)
- Introductory lecture and co-chair, with Elke Brendel, of the colloquium Epistemic Authority at GAP 10: Vielfalt in der Philosophie und darüber hinaus/Plurality in Philosophy and Beyond, 10th International Congress of the Society for Analytic Philosophy, 17-20 September, University of Cologne
- Epistemic Authority, lecture at the workshop Epistemic Authority, Autonomy and Trustworthiness, 20 November 2018, TU Dresden (keynote, by invitation)
2017
- Authority and Understanding, lecture at the workshop Political Epistemology, organised by Klemens Kappel, 18-19.12.2017, Copenhagen (by invitation)
- Epistemic authority and the understanding of theories, with Federica Malfatti, lecture at the workshop Wissen-Verstehen-Erklären, 24-26.11.2017, organised by Gerhard Schönrich, TU Dresden (by invitation)
- Chair of the Philosophy of Religion section at the XXIV Congress of the German Philosophical Society, 24-27 September 2017, Berlin (by invitation)
- Panel presentation at the event "What can we know, what do we want to believe?", organised by Lauter Leise e.V. and Erich-Zeigner-Haus e.V., Leipzig, panel discussion on the influence of conspiracy theories, with Jürgen Kasek and Frank Richter, 23 September 2017, Erich-Zeigner-Haus, Leipzig (by invitation)
- The Trust Argument for Epistemic Preemptionism, 5-9 June 2017, Bled Epistemology Conference, Bled (by invitation)
- Trusting an Epistemic Authority, international workshop Believing on Authority?, 23 May 2017, Innsbruck
2016
- Epistemic Trust and Intellectual Authority, International conference Philosophical Dimensions of Trust, 15-16 December 2016, University of Innsbruck (by invitation)
- Foreknowledge and Fatalism, international workshop Time and Religion, 10 December 2016, University of Cambridge (by invitation)
- Believing on Authority, conference The Structure of Credition, 23-26 November 2016, University of Graz (by invitation)
- Fischer on foreknowledge and freedom, 15 October 2016, Ettaler Oberseminar, Ettal Monastery (by invitation)
- Socratic Epistemic Authority and Religious Disagreement, presentation at the workshop Religious Pluralism and Disagreement, 22-23 June 2016, University of Konstanz (by invitation)
- Sokratische Autorität und Verstehe", 26 June 2016, International Conference on Social Epistemology, 24-26 June 2016, University of Cologne (by invitation)
2015
- Dissens mit epistemischen Autoritäten, as part of the lecture series Dissens-Disagreement, organised by Manuela Kälin, Meret Polzer and Nico Müller, 30.3.2015 in Zurich (by invitation)
- Meta-Emotions or: What do we feel about our own feelings?, 7 May 2015, Philosophisches Café Innsbruck (by invitation)
- Dissens und sokratische Autorität, Workshop Neue Perspektiven der Erkenntnistheorie, organised by Pedro Schmechtig, 15-17 May 2015, TU Dresden (by invitation)
- Socratic Epistemic Authority, Bled Epistemology Conference, 1-5 June 2015, Bled (by invitation)
- FACS and Higher-Order Emotions, International FACS Conference 2015, Pre-Conference of the international conference of ISRE (International Society for Research on Emotions), 6-7 July 2015, Geneva
- Meta-Emotions and Survivor's Guilt, as part of the symposium Meta-Emotions, self-awareness, and self-regulation, international conference of the ISRE (International Society for Research on Emotions), 8-10 July 2015, Geneva
- Epistemic Authority, 15 July 2015, Philosophical Seminar of the University of Cologne (by invitation)
- Swinburne on Religious Experience, Keynote Lecture at the British Society for Philosophy of Religion's Symposium in Honour of Richard Swinburne on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, 12.92015, Oriel College, Oxford (by invitation)
2014
- Epistemic Authority, Preemptive Reasons, and Understanding. Lecture at the 88th Annual Meeting of the American Philosophical Association (APA), Pacific Division, 16-20 April 2014, San Diego (by invitation)
- Epistemic Authority, Workshop Neue Perspektiven der Erkenntnistheorie, 23-25 May 2014, TU Dresden (by invitation)
- Looking Into Meta-Emotions, Inaugural Conference of the European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions, 18-20 July 2014, Lisbon
In recent years populism, propaganda, manipulation, and authoritarian thinking have started to jeopardise liberal democracy and the open societies. Rational, enlightened thinking appears to be in decline. This lecture series analyses these developments and explores explanations and strategies for addressing them. Leading scholars from various disciplines in philosophy, theology, and other fields in the humanities and social sciences, will offer up-to-date discussion and analysis. The series will feature several lectures each semester, often accompanied by workshops on specific topics.
Populism, propaganda, manipulation and authoritarian thinking are increasingly jeopardising the principles and achievements of liberal democracy and an open society. Rational, enlightened thinking is under pressure. The lecture series analyses these developments and examines explanatory approaches and strategies for overcoming them. Leading academics from various disciplines of philosophy, theology and other humanities and social sciences provide up-to-date analyses and discussions. The series comprises several lectures per semester, often accompanied by in-depth workshops.
You can find the full programme of events at here.