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I am a French-Iranian-American Assistant Professor of Philosophy (with tenure) at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and a Senior Scholar at the Millennium Project: Global Futures Research and Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. From 2013 till 2018 I worked at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. I hold a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Georgetown University (2012) and graduate degrees in History of Philosophy and Medical Ethics from the University of Paris, in my native city. I am currently working on a book project on the philosophy of Futures Studies focused on the role of narrative arguments in scenarios and lay visions of socio-techno-ecological futures. In this project, my approach draws on argumentation theory, analytic pragmatism, moral and political philosophy, anticipatory technology ethics, and cosmopolitan philosophy (inclusive of non-Euro-American philosophical traditions).

Areas of Specialization:

  • Philosophy of Futures Studies: Ethics, political philosophy, and epistemology of methods and practices (e.g., scenario building, computer modeling, visioning, letters from the future) designed to anticipate socio-techno-ecological futures and stimulate anticipatory moral imagination)

  • Applied ethics and political philosophy with a focus on:

    • anticipatory technology ethics (methodological improvements to this approach and application to different issues such as technological sovereignty and e-justice)

    • ethics and philosophy of psychology

    • public health ethics and bioethics

    • food and agricultural ethics

Areas of Competence:

  • American pragmatism

  • Argumentation theory

  • Epistemology

  • History of modern philosophy (Spinoza and Radical Enlightenment)

  • History of psychology

  • Philosophical methodology from a cosmopolitan philosophy perspective (China, India, Persianate world)

Besides my academic work, I am dedicated to mind-body practices (qigong, tai chi, meditation), enjoy designing over 50 bonsai trees, appreciate Chinese and Persian painting and calligraphy, and love cooking delicious French recipes.

Representative publications:

To download my CV, please click here.

Email: y.saghai@utwente.nl