Joerg Fingerhut appointed Professor for Philosophy of Cognitive Science and the Arts at Uniarts Helsinki
Joerg Fingerhut’s professorship at the Research Institute strengthens Uniarts Helsinki’s research profile in artist pedagogy and artistic thinking.
Fingerhut joins Uniarts Helsinki from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where he currently serves as a Visiting Professor of Philosophy and directs the Arts and Minds Lab, which brings together 4E (embodied, embedded, extended, and enactive) philosophy and cognitive science to investigate the relationships between art, perception, understanding, and human flourishing.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the capacity of art to change the way we see ourselves and the world around us,” says Fingerhut. “I am excited to join a vibrant artistic and scholarly community in Helsinki to explore the myriad ways of worldmaking through the arts. The professorship offers an ideal setting for developing new forms of research at the intersection of cognitive science, philosophy, and artistic practice.”
A key structural contribution of the professorship will be the establishment of the Arts and Minds Lab at Uniarts Helsinki. The lab will research the cognitive impact of artistic engagement, the ways in which we process contemporary media, and how urban environments can encourage exploration, reflection, and public engagement. The main aim will be to develop an empirically grounded philosophy of how art contributes to understanding.
Fingerhut has received several major international research grants, including a European Research Council (ERC) grant for the project Affective Aesthetic Cognitivism and Wonder, commencing in July 2026.
”Fingerhut’s expertise in philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences, together with his experimental approach to researching art, provide a very valuable new perspective for our university. His passionate commitment to forwarding these areas will certainly inspire our research community,” says Leena Rouhiainen, Head of the Research Institute.
Fingerhut will take up his professorship at Uniarts Helsinki in January 2027.
Read more on Joerg Fingerhut’s homepage.