Clara Scheve is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Strategic and International Management at Hamburg University of Technology. In her research, she examines how strategic, technological and institutional dynamics influence organisations' responses to Grand Challenges, particularly those related to sustainability and ethics. Together with Thomas Wrona, she teaches the course Wissenschaftstheorie (Philosophy of Science).

I’m fascinated by the fact that many of our philosophical questions are centuries old and yet still highly relevant: What can we know, and how can we recognize good research? These questions apply to every discipline. The better you understand the philosophy of science, the better you will understand your own field of research.

Science requires passion, and that is precisely where the challenge lies: not getting lost in it. In my opinion, those who manage to strike a good balance have the best job in the world, even if it requires a great deal of dedication and a bit of luck. I’m curious to see how new technologies like AI will transform science. I can see significant challenges for existing systems, but also great opportunities. A lot is going to change.

I draw inspiration from discussions with colleagues and from thinking outside the box. I enjoy reading articles from other disciplines, such as physics and philosophy, and I attend conferences outside my own field occasionally.

In keeping with our course on the philosophy of science, here is a quote from Immanuel Kant: “Thoughts without content are empty; intuitions without concepts are blind.”

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