Sabrina Ebbersmeyer

Sabrina Ebbersmeyer

Professor

I’m professor of philosophy and head of section of philosophy at the University of Copenhagen. I am working primarily on the history of Renaissance and Early Modern philosophy. I co-founded together with Leo Catana the History of Philosophy Research Group (2014-) and I co-direct together with Christian Benne the CEMES research group Thinking the European Republic of Letters (2017-). I am also responsible for the Women-mentoring-women in philosophy program for female staff and students affiliated to philosophy.

I’m member of several academic societies dedicated to philosophy and the history of philosophy. From 2017-2019, I was member of the board of the Netværk for kvinder og non-binære i filosofi. 2019-2022, I was president of the European Society for Early Modern Philosophy (ESEMP).

I also serve as member of the scientific committee of the Rivista di storia della filosofia (2018-) and of the International Advisory Board of the Rivista di filosofia (2023-2028).

Currently, I’m the PI of two research project:

Women in the Nordic Enlightenment (WHENCE), funded by the European Research Council (ERC) (2024-2028).

How to be Happy in Times of Turmoil? The re-discovery of Danish philosopher Birgitte Thott (1610-1662) and her Neo-stoic treatise Om Weyen till et Lycksalligt Liff, funded by Augustinus Fonden. 2023-2024.

Primary fields of research

  • History of Philosophy (Renaissance, Early Modern)
  • Feminist History of Philosophy
  • Intellectual Women in the Nordic Enlightenment
  • Humanism
  • Emotion theory

Current research

I’m working primarily in the field of Renaissance and Early Modern philosophy. I’m interested in problems in philosophy of mind, especially concerning the role and function of emotions in understanding cognition (in Plato, Aristotle, Ficino, Telesio, Descartes, Elisabeth of Bohemia and Leibniz).

I’m also interested in the tradition of female philosophers of the Renaissance and the Early Modern period (especially Christine de Pizan, Isotta Nogarola, Arcangela Tarabotti, Birgitte Thott and Elisabeth of Bohemia) and in the question how to integrate women philosophers to our standard accounts of the history of philosophy.

Currently, I'm working on women in the Nordic Enlightenment, the identity of the female intellectual, Birgitte Thott's moral philosophy, and the feminisit potential the Stoic trought.

Teaching

I’m mainly teaching BA and MA-level courses in history of philosophy (Renaissance and Early Modern). Generally, I supervise essays on topics related to history of philosophy. 

ID: 97574236