Meet our philosopher in residence
Sabine Winters has recently joined the Advanced Concepts Team as our philosopher in residence. Her role is to investigate the ways in which imagination is used as a tool for exploring possibilities in science, while also highlighting the potential challenges that may arise. Through her work with the team, Sabine aims to gather diverse perspectives from the various ACT disciplines on the function of imagination in science. Her philosophical project with us seeks to deepen our understanding of the role of imagination in shaping our worldview, particularly when it comes to envisioning the future of space exploration. To accomplish this goal, Sabine employs various methods such as presentations, discussions, and podcast interviews. Through these platforms, she explores a wide range of philosophical topics, such as the ethical implications of disruptive technologies, the engineering of "perfect" astronauts, and the role of AI in creativity. She also explores the existence of free will in a universe governed by quantum mechanics, and the nature of time itself. In addition to these discussions, Sabine conducts field research on the role of imagination in the development of new concepts in space exploration, which she shares through her podcast, Scientific Imagination. Scientific Imagintion is a quest through podcasts and meetups, that aims to sketch a picture of the potential challenges that may arise and provide an overview of what the imagination does when it is used as a guide in the scientific world.
Sabine Winters is a freelance philosopher of science, with a strong focus on philosophy of space. She obtained a master's degree in Philosophy of Science, with a thesis on "A View from the Moon: Kepler's Somnium as a Thought Experiment in Astronomy." Besides her work as a philosopher, Sabine also teaches philosophy at ArtEZ University of the Arts (Arnhem, Netherlands), lectures on film and philosophy, and creates interdisciplinary research programs on art and technology. Sabine is the founder and director of Future Based, an interdisciplinary philosophy platform organizing discussions with experts in their field to foster a deeper understanding of the world we live in. Scientific Imagination is Sabine's ongoing philosophical quest to deepen our understanding of the role of imagination in the natural sciences.