Chair for Philosophy & Blockchain

What happens to the foundations of knowledge, trust, and value when relationships amongst humans and/or artificial agents are no longer mediated by traditional, intermediary institutions, but by decentralised technologies? The Chair for Philosophy & Blockchain at ZIBR explores the ethical, epistemological, and ontological dimensions of blockchain. It investigates how historical and contemporary currents in blockchain innovation are shaped by philosophical presuppositions, and how philosophical inquiry can guide innovation, highlight opportunities and their tipping points into solutionism, hype, and hubris, and help societies navigate the promises and pitfalls of decentralisation.

Philosophical Foundations Meet Blockchain Reality

What is blockchain? As a socio-technical phenomenon, blockchain challenges how we understand and navigate reality, fiction, and collective knowledge. The Chair examines how blockchain and its constitutive features transform the interaction and cooperation of human and artificial agents.

Trust, Identity, and Ownership

From Bitcoin’s claim to be trustless electronic cash to the tokenization of identity and assets, blockchain reconfigures what it means to own and to rely on others. How can a blockchain blur the line between reality and fiction? How does tokenization reshape our sense of identity, owning, and belonging? The Chair studies these and other emerging impacts on concepts in philosophy and beyond.

Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries

Blockchain is a multifaceted phenomenon rife with tensions, ambiguities, continuities and discontinuities with previous and ongoing inquiry. Particular emphasis is thus placed on the integration with (i) related philosophical subdisciplines in Philosophy of Technology and Applied Ethics, particularly AI Ethics, Bioethics, and the Ethics of Emerging Technologies, as well as (ii) neighboring disciplines such as Sociology, Political science, and Law.

Prof. Dr. Patrik Hummel

Professor of Philosophy and Blockchain

Get to know the Chair

The Chair for Philosophy & Blockchain aims to serve as a key voice in reflecting on decentralised technologies through the lens of philosophical inquiry. It contributes to philosophical discourse, interdisciplinary research, international debates, and informed, critical public reflection of blockchain’s wider implications.

Chair for Philosophy & Blockchain

This Chair pursues a critical and constructive analysis of opportunities, risks, disruptions, claims, and realities in blockchain ecosystems.

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