MEMBERS
Ivar Russøy LabuktAssociate professor in philosophy (Group leader)
Ivar Russøy Labukt – Associate professor in philosophy
Research interests:
Ethics, metaethics, personal identity.
Contact:
Position: Associate professor in philosophy
E-mail: ivar.r.labukt@uit.no
Work phone: +4777646189
Attila TanyiProfessor II (Adjunct Professor)
Attila Tanyi – Professor II (Adjunct Professor)
Research interests:
Political philosophy; Moral philosophy; Ethics; Philosophy of religion; Philosophy of law; Philosophy of action
Contact:
Position: Professor II (Adjunct Professor)
E-mail: attila.g.tanyi@uit.no
Melina DuarteHead of the Department
Melina Duarte – Head of the Department
Research interests:
- Migration Ethics and Political Justice: Political membership, freedom of movement, refugee rights, climate migration, and solidarity.
- Integration and Social Cohesion: The relationship between power, inequality, and social cohesion in diverse societies.
- Feminist Philosophy and Gender Equality in Academia: Gender balance, diversity, affirmative action, institutional inequality, and the exercise of discretion.
- Feminist Epistemology and Philosophy of Science: Epistemic diversity, objectivity, gender, and knowledge production.
- Research Ethics: Researchers’ responsibilities, ethical challenges in interdisciplinary research, and emerging technologies.
Selected Research Projects
- SKJØNN (2024–2026) – Common Sense and Moral Reasoning in Academia’s Inclusion Practices. Project Leader (2024–2025). Funded by the Research Council of Norway (350275).
- GOODINT (2021–2025) – Good Integration: Goals and Bottlenecks of Successful Integration and Social Cohesion. Researcher. Funded by the Research Council of Norway (313846).
- PRESTISJE (2018–2023) – Gender Balance in Research Leadership. Project Coordinator (2020–2021) and Project Leader (2022–2023). Funded by the Research Council of Norway (281862).
- IMPLISITT (2021–2023) – Research project on implicit biases and gender equality in academia. Project Leader (2022–2023). Funded by the Research Council of Norway (321031).
- Globalizing Minority Rights (2016–2020) – Work Package Leader for Refugees and Displaced Persons. Funded by the Research Council of Norway (259017).
- RECAST (2017–2021) – Reappraising Intellectual Debates on Civic Rights and Democracy in Europe. Researcher in the European COST network (CA16211).
Selected Publications
2020–2027
- Duarte, M. & Reibold, K. S. (eds.) (forthcoming). Gender, Discretion and Decision-Making in Academia. Routledge. Under contract.
- Duarte, M., Mikalsen, Ø. H. & Vargenes, T. (forthcoming). Between Rules and Context: The Institutionalization of Whistleblower Protection in Universities. Book chapter in Gender, Discretion and Decision-Making in Academia. Routledge.
- Pettersen, V. K. & Duarte, M. (2026). The Funding Gap in Norway: A Comparison of European and Norwegian Research Councils’ Policies on Eligibility Extension Due to Maternity Leave. Book chapter.
- Duarte, M. (2024). Social Cohesion and the Struggle for Power in Diverse Societies. Law, Ethics and Philosophy.
- Duarte, M. (2024). De tre gapene i den tradisjonelle vitenskapsfilosofiens historie: en feministisk kritikk [The Three Gaps in the Traditional History of Philosophy of Science: A Feminist Critique]. Norsk filosofisk tidsskrift.
- Duarte, M., Losleben, K. & Fjørtoft, K. (eds.) (2023). Gender Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academia: A Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Transformation. Routledge.
- Duarte, M. (2023). Affirmative Action. In Gender Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academia. Routledge.
- Duarte, M. (2020). The Ethical Consequences of Criminalizing Solidarity in the EU. Theoria.
- Duarte, M. (2020). A Human Right to Relocate: The Case for Climate Migrants. Book chapter.
Earlier Key Publications
- Duarte, M., Lippert-Rasmussen, K., Parekh, S. & Vitikainen, A. (eds.) (2018). Refugee Crisis: The Borders of Human Mobility. Routledge.
- Duarte, M. (2018). Who Should Be Granted Electoral Rights at the State Level? Etikk i Praksis.
- Duarte, M. (2018). Open Borders and Welfare States: Can't They Really Get Along? Journal of Identity and Migration Studies.
- Duarte, M., Lippert-Rasmussen, K., Parekh, S. & Vitikainen, A. (2016). Introduction to the Thematic Issue “Refugee Crisis: The Borders of Human Mobility”. Journal of Global Ethics.
- Duarte, M. (2016). Educating Citizens for Humanism: Nussbaum and the Education Crisis. Studies in Philosophy and Education.
Contact:
Position: Head of the Department
E-mail: melina.duarte@uit.no
Work phone: +4777644329
Beatrix HimmelmannProfessor
Beatrix Himmelmann – Professor
Research interests:
Practical Philosophy, Metaphysics, Kant, Nietzsche
Contact:
Position: Professor
E-mail: beatrix.himmelmann@uit.no
Work phone: +4777623328
Maria DanielsenHigher Executive Officer
Maria Danielsen – Higher Executive Officer
Research interests:
Theory of emotions, aesthetics, ethics, epistemology, phenomenology, artificial intelligence.
Contact:
Position: Higher Executive Officer
E-mail: maria.danielsen@uit.no
Bendik Berntsen-ØybøDoctoral Research Fellow
Bendik Berntsen-Øybø – Doctoral Research Fellow
Research interests:
Research interests:
Ethics, meta-philosophy, political philosophy
Sub-branches: Normative ethics, applied ethics, metaethics, philosophical methodology, progress in philosophy, political theory, international political philosophy
Contact:
Position: Doctoral Research Fellow
E-mail: bendik.berntsen-oybo@uit.no
Mathea Slåttholm SagdahlSenior lecturer
Mathea Slåttholm Sagdahl – Senior lecturer
UiO
Contact:
Position: Senior lecturer
E-mail: mathea@ifikk.uio.no
My primary area of expertise lies at the intersection of normative ethics and metaethics. Much of my research concerns how both morality and self-interest can serve as sources for the reasons we have as acting beings. These reasons can interact with one another, but they can also come into conflict. The philosophical question I have explored most extensively is how we can determine what we ought to do when faced with such conflicts.
I have also addressed other topics. For instance, I have written about melancholy—what it is and what value it holds. I have also worked on the ethics of military conscription, as well as on how transgender individuals can be better included as students and staff within higher education institutions.
Currently, I am also working on the concept of meaningfulness in life, and I have a strong interest in feminist philosophy and the metaphysics of gender.
Michael Paul MorreauProfessor
Michael Paul Morreau – Professor
Research interests:
Philosophical Logic, Metaphysics, Epistemology
Contact:
Position: Professor
E-mail: michael.morreau@uit.no
Work phone: +4777645230
Roe FremstedalProfessor
Roe Fremstedal – Professor
NTNU
Contact:
Position: Professor
E-mail: roe.fremstedal@ntnu.no
Work phone: 91855302
Roe Fremstedal returned to NTNU in 2019, having previously served as a professor (2014–19) and associate professor (2013–14) at the University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway. He received his education at NTNU, the University of Oslo, the University of Copenhagen, and St. Olaf College (USA), and holds a PhD from NTNU (2010). Fremstedal has previously been a visiting scholar (Gastwissenschaftler) at Goethe University Frankfurt (2017–18), and has held positions as an associate professor (2011–13) and university lecturer (2002–2006, 2009, 2010) at NTNU. As of 2024, he is an elected member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (established in 1760).
Fredrik NysethSenior Lecturer / Deputy Head of Department
Fredrik Nyseth – Senior Lecturer / Deputy Head of Department
Research interests:
Philosophy of language, philosophical logic, metaphysics, metaethics
Contact:
Position: Senior Lecturer / Deputy Head of Department
E-mail: fredrik.nyseth@uit.no
Work phone: +4777645839
Fredrik NilsenAssistant Professor
Fredrik Nilsen – Assistant Professor
Research interests:
- History of philosophy ( in particular the Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Early Modernity, the Enlightenment; Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquino, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant).
- The contributions of women thinkers to the history of philosophy (critique of canon) (in particular Elizabeth of Bohemia, Sophie of Hanover, Sophie Charlotte of Preussia, Anne Conway, Margaret Cavendish, Damaris Cudworth Masham, Catharine Trotter Cockburn).
- The contributions of non-western thinkers to the history of philosophy (critique of canon) (in particular African philosophy; Zera-Yaqob, Welde Hiywet, Wilhelm Anton Amo).
- The history of ethics (Aristotle, Kant, Bentham, Mill).
- Normative ethics (virtue ethics, duty ethics, utilitarianism).
- Metaethics (in particular the questions on free will and moral evil; Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epictetus, Augustine, Aquino, Ockham, Duns Scotus, Leibniz, Rousseau, Kant).
- Philosophy of antiquity (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, epicurianism, stoicism).
- Metaphysics (in particular the question of free will and the mind-body problem; Platon, Aristotle, Descartes, Elizabeth of Bohemia, Spinoza, Leibniz, Sophie of Hanover, Anne Conway, Margaret Cavendish, Kant).
- The history of political philosophy (Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquino, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant).
- The history of hermeneutics (in particular the German tradition; Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Gadamer).
Contact:
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: fredrik.nilsen@uit.no
Work phone: +4777623229
Private phone: 91757958
Heine HolmenAssociate Professor
Heine Holmen – Associate Professor
NTNU
Contact:
Position: Associate Professor
E-mail: heine.a.holmen@ntnu.no
Work phone: +47 94 15 41 53
Hello, my name is Heine Alexander Holmen. I am a philosopher and the Head of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies (IFR) at NTNU. In my daily work, I lead the department—a role that entails serving as a personnel manager, operational supervisor, and strategic leader—while also acting as a member of the Dean’s leadership team at the Faculty of Humanities (HF).
