Harald Stelzer

Harald Stelzer is a (senior) scientist at the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Graz. He is a member of the Field of Excellence Climate Change Graz at the University of Graz, where he has been working as research manager since 2019. Previously, Harald was Professor of Political Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Graz (2014-2019). His previous research stays have also taken him to Germany, where he worked as a project scientist at the IASS (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies) in Potsdam, as well as to the USA to the University of Washington as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar and Lecturer and to the University of Minnesota, where he worked as a research assistant at the Center for Austrian Studies during his PhD. He was involved in various FWF and EU projects.

His research focuses on the development of criteria that can be used for the normative assessment of technologies and climate change pathways. An important background in this context is the question of the extent to which technical solutions can provide an adequate answer to sustainability problems. Ideological and normative considerations on the role of science and technology in solving behavioral problems play an important role at both an individual and collective level. An extension of his research, which he will now be working on as a Senior Scientist, is the question of the changing relationship between humans and nature, which plays a decisive role in social transformation processes. Questions of balancing interests play a major role in all of these topics. These processes are particularly interesting from a normative perspective, especially when they take place under conditions of uncertainty and involve balancing risks in the future and existing interests in the present.

Harald loves to spend time in nature and has become one of the leading wildlife photographers in Austria. So do not forget to check out his Instagram account:https://www.instagram.com/wildnature_harald_stelzer/