Sebastian Schmidt

Sebastian Schmidt, Dr.

Oberassistent / Senior teaching and research assistant (SNF Ambizione)

Phone: 044 634 31 07
Address: UZH, Philosophisches Seminar, Zürichbergstrasse 43, CH-8044 Zürich
Room number: G-228

E-Mail

Research

Epistemology
Metaethics

Area of Competence

Philosophy of Mind
Metaphilosophy
Later Wittgenstein
Ancient Philosophy

Curriculum vitae

Since 09/2025	Senior Researcher (Oberassistent, SNSF-Ambizione), University of Zurich (UZH) Project: Relational Epistemology
Since 09/2021	Research Associate, African Centre for Epistemology and Philosophy of Science (ACEPS), University of Johannesburg; Visits: 02 – 03/2022; 04 – 05/2025
12/2020 – 08/2025	Postdoc, Zurich Epistemology Group on Rationality (ZEGRa), UZH
09/2022 – 08/2023	SNF Postdoc Mobility Fellow, University of Southern California (USC) and University of Glasgow
2015 – 2020	PhD in philosophy (summa cum laude), FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg; Dissertation: The Problem of Mental Responsibility. Outlines of an Ethics of Mind
2019 – 2020	Research Assistant, ZEGRa, UZH
2014 – 2019	Fellow of the German Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung)
04 – 07/2019	Research Assistant (Wiss. Mitarbeiter), FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg
2015 – 2019	Visiting Researcher, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), City University of New York (CUNY), and University of Reading
2013 – 2018	Teaching Assistant and Student Assistant, FAU
2013 – 2015	Master of Arts in philosophy, FAU
2011 – 2014	Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and German studies, FAU

Teaching

Vorlesungsverzeichnis

V-Nr	Course	Start / End	Date	Lecturers	Room
3655	Erkenntnistheorie (Schmidt) (Fortsetzung aus FS25, nicht separat buchbar) 06ST160-017m	from 19.09.2025 to 19.12.2025	gemäss Ankündigung oder indiv. Vereinbarung	Sebastian Schmidt	siehe Details

Publications

Monograph

Schmidt, S. (2025). Responsibility for Rationality: Foundations of an Ethics of Mind. Routledge. (external link).

Edited volumes and special issues

Kiesel, D., Schmidt, S., and Smettan, T. (eds.) (2024). Altruismus. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven. Metzler. (external link).

van Loon, M., Schmidt, S., and Meylan, A. (eds.) (2023). Beyond Evidence in Epistemology. Special Issue of Philosophical Topics. (external link).

Schmidt, S. and Ernst, G. (eds.) (2020). The Ethics of Belief and Beyond. Understanding Mental Normativity. Routledge. (external link).

Articles in peer reviewed journals

Schmidt, S. (2025). The Ubiquity of Higher-Order Defeat. Pacific Philosophical Quarterly. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2025). Should We Respond Correctly to Our Reasons?. Episteme. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2024). Blameworthiness for Non-Culpable Attitudes. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 102, 48-64. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2024). Epistemic Blame and the Normativity of Evidence. Erkenntnis, 89, 1-24. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2024). Doxastic Dilemmas and Epistemic Blame. Philosophical Issues, 34, 132-149. (external link).

Meylan, A. and Schmidt, S. (2023). Refusing the COVID-19 vaccine: what’s wrong with that?. Philosophical Psychology, 36, 1102-1124. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2022). On Believing Indirectly for Practical Reasons. Philosophical Studies, 179, 1795-1819. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2017). Why We Should Promote Irrationality. Grazer Philosophische Studien, 94, 605-615. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2016). Können wir uns entscheiden, etwas zu glauben? Zur Möglichkeit und Unmöglichkeit eines doxastischen Willens. Grazer Philosophische Studien, 93, 571-582. (external link).

Commentaries and Discussions in peer reviewed journals

Schmidt, S. (2025). Précis (zu Responsibility for Rationality) und Repliken zu den Kommentaren von Sanja Dembić und Benjamin Kiesewetter. Zeitschrift für Philosophische Forschung, 79 (3), 393-397, 411-416. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2025). Individuelle Verantwortung für Genozidleugnung. Ein Kommentar zu Melanie Altanians The Epistemic Injustice of Genocide Denialism. Zeitschrift für Philosophische Forschung, 79 (2), 265-269.. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2023). Incoherence and the Balance of Evidential Reasons. Asian Journal of Philosophy, 2 (50), 1-10. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2023). The Ethics of Belief in a Burning World. Australasian Philosophical Review, 7, 404-410. (external link).

van Loon, M., Schmidt, S., and Meylan, A. (2023). Introduction: Beyond Evidence in Epistemology. Philosophical Topics, 51, 1-8. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2020). Rationality and Responsibility. Australasian Philosophical Review, 4, 379-385. (external link).

Book reviews in peer reviewed journals

Schmidt, S. (2025). Unwissenheit als Realweltliches Phänomen (Review of Nadja El Kassar. How Should We Rationally Deal with Ignorance?), Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie, 73 (4), 548–553. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2025). Cameron Boult: Epistemic Blame. The Nature and Norms of Epistemic Relationships. Ethics, 135, 773-778. (external link).

Schmidt, S. (2019). Errol Lord: The Importance of Being Rational, Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 73, 302-307.

Schmidt, S. (2019). Ralph Wedgwood: The Value of Rationality, Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 73, 153-158.

Schmidt, S. (2017). Paola Cavalieri: Philosophy and the Politics of Animal Liberation, Tierstudien 12, 175-176.

Schmidt, S. (2016). Herwig Grimm und Markus Wild: Tierethik, Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 70, 605-610.

Schmidt, S. (2016). Miriam Schleifer McCormick: Believing Against the Evidence. Agency and the Ethics of Belief, Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 70, 449-453.

Contributions to edited volumes

Schmidt, S., Mitova, V., Meylan, A. (forthcoming). The Ethics of Belief in Conspiracy Theory. In Tsapos, M., Coady, D. (Ed.). Conspiracy Theory and Society Research Handbook. Edward Elgar Publishing. .

Schmidt, S. (2024). Ist es erlaubt zu philosophieren? Altruismus und das gute Leben. In Kiesel, D., Schmidt, S., and Smettan, T. (Ed.). Altruismus. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven. Metzler. .

Schmidt, S. (2021). Wie vernünftig sind Verschwörungstheoretiker? Corona und intellektuelles Vertrauen. In Jaster, R. and Keil, G. (Ed.). Nachdenken über Corona. Philosophische Essays über die Pandemie und ihre Folgen. Reclam, 98-109. .

Schmidt, S. (2020). Responsibility for Attitudes, Object-Given Reasons, and Blame. In Schmidt, S. and Ernst, G. (Ed.). The Ethics of Belief and Beyond. Understanding Mental Normativity. Routledge, 149-175. .

Schmidt, S. (2020). Introduction: Towards an Ethics of Mind. In Schmidt, S. and Ernst, G. (Ed.). The Ethics of Belief and Beyond. Understanding Mental Normativity. Routledge, 1-20. .

Kiesel, D. and Schmidt, S. (2019). Freier Wille, Personale Identität und epistemische Ungewissheit. In Dagmar Kiesel and Cleophea Ferrari (Ed.). Willensfreiheit. Klostermann, 221-258. .

Schmidt, S. (2015). Wittgensteins Antirelativismus in Über Gewissheit. In Kanzian, C., Mitterer, J., and Neges, K. (Ed.). Realismus – Relativismus – Konstruktivismus. Beiträge des 38. Internationalen Wittgenstein Symposiums. Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society, 268-270. .

ZORA Publication List

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Publications

2020
- Journal Article
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2020). Rationality and responsibility Australasian Philosophical Review, 4(4):379-385.
- Book Section
  - Gaultier, Benoit (2020). Responsibility for doxastic strength grounds responsibility for belief In: Schmidt, Sebastian; Ernst, Gerhard . The ethics of belief and beyond : understanding mental normativity. Abingdon: Routledge, 71-85.
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2020). Responsibility for attitudes, object-given reasons, and blame In: Schmidt, Sebastian; Ernst, Gerhard . The ethics of belief and beyond : understanding mental normativity. Abingdon: Routledge, 149-175.
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2020). Introduction: towards an ethics of mind In: Schmidt, Sebastian; Ernst, Gerhard . The ethics of belief and beyond : understanding mental normativity. Abingdon: Routledge, 1-20.
- Edited Scientific Work
  - The ethics of belief and beyond : understanding mental normativity Edited by: Schmidt, Sebastian; Ernst, Gerhard (2020). Abingdon: Routledge.
- Scientific Publication in Electronic Form
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2020). Dürfen wir glauben, was wir wollen? Verantwortung für die eigene Meinung Biel/Bienne: Philosophie.ch.
2019
- Journal Article
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2019). Buchbesprechungen: Errol Lord: The Importance of Being Rational, 253 S., Oxford University Press, New York / Oxford 2018 Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung, 73(2):302-307.
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2019). Buchbesprechungen: Ralph Wedgwood: The Value of Rationality, 267 S., Oxford University Press, New York / Oxford 2017 Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung, 73(1):153-158.
- Book Section
  - Kiesel, Dagmar; Schmidt, Sebastian (2019). Freier Wille, personale Identität und epistemische Ungewissheit In: Kiesel, Dagmar; Ferrari, Cleophea . Willensfreiheit. Frankfurt a. M.: Vittorio Klostermann, 221-258.
2017
- Journal Article
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2017). Why we should promote irrationality Grazer Philosophische Studien, 94(4):605-615.
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2017). Rezensionen: Wie Tierethik die Welt verändern kann und soll: Philosophie und Politik: Paola Cavalieri (Hrsg.): Philosophy and the Politics of Animal Liberation Tierstudien, 12:175-176.
2016
- Journal Article
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2016). Können wir uns entscheiden, etwas zu glauben? – Zur Möglichkeit und Unmöglichkeit eines doxastischen Willens Grazer Philosophische Studien, 93(4):571-582.
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2016). Buchbesprechungen: Herwig Grimm, Markus Wild: Tierethik, 251 S., Junius Verlag, Hamburg 2016 Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung, 70(4):605-610.
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2016). Buchbesprechungen: Miriam Schleifer McCormick: Believing Against the Evidence. Agency and the Ethics of Belief, 144 S., Routledge, London/New York 2015 Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung, 70(3):449-453.
2015
- Conference or Workshop item
  - Schmidt, Sebastian (2015). Wittgensteins Antirelativismus in "Über Gewissheit“ In: 38. Internationales Wittgenstein Symposium 2015 Realismus – Relativismus – Konstruktivismus, Kirchberg am Wechsel, 9 August 2015 - 15 August 2015.

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