In memory and honor of its founding Rector, Krzysztof Michalski, who died in 2013, the IWM has established a new fellowship program consisting of one senior and two junior positions. The Krzysztof Michalski Visiting Fellowship is awarded by invitation only to an outstanding scholar working in the fields of continental philosophy or religion, which were Krzysztof Michalski’s own areas of interest and research.

The first senior Visiting Fellowship for the academic year 2015/16 was awarded to the political and social theorist Steven Lukes, Professor of Politics and Sociology at New York University.

Morals and Ethics

Steven Lukes’ research examines how morals relate to politics, economics, law, and religion. He explores the nature and functioning of moral norms or ‘ordinary ethics’, and the distinctive contribution that a sociological-cum-anthropological approach can make to the study of this topic. Particular questions include whether ‘moral progress’ exists, whether there is a basic repertoire of moral sentiments which is diverse only in its cultural expression, how human atrocities can be explained, and to what extent animals display moral behavior.

Generously supported by