Maria
Lasonen
Philosopher
I am Professor of Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Helsinki. I also hold a 6-year Academy Professorship (Research Council of Finland, 2026-2031).
During the academic year 2025-26 I am a Visiting Research Fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford.
I will lead a project funded by the European Research Council titled Concepts as Knowledge Facilitators, beginning in 2027. Until the end of 2023 I led a European Research Council project titled Competence and Success in Epistemology and Beyond.
Before moving back to Finland in 2018, I was an Associate Professor (with tenure) at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Before moving to Michigan in 2010 I was at Oxford, where I completed a BPhil and DPhil (2010), and was a Fitzjames Research Fellow at Merton College.
Though I mainly work in epistemology, my philosophical interests are broad. I recently finished a book (The Good, the Bad, and the Feasible, Oxford University Press) that defends my big picture in epistemology and generalizes it to other normative domains.
More recently I have started thinking about the epistemic significance of concepts, and about related topics such as awareness growth and inquiry.
When I’m not doing philosophy, I spend time with my 2 children, enjoy music, and try to get outdoors as much as I can. As an antidote to work and other commitments, I climb with various degrees of obsession.
I am currently running a research project funded by the Research Council of Finland titled ”The Epistemic Significance of Concepts”, and my new European Research Council funded project will begin in 2027.
