Alexander Niederklapfer

Alexander Niederklapfer is a PhD student in LSE's Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. His research interests lie within Philosophy of Science in general, and Philosophy of Physics in particular. He is fascinated by the question of what science can tell us about the world and what the limits of our knowledge might be. His current doctoral research is motivated by the question:  What are elementary particles? It turns out that this question is less straightforward to answer than it initially appears, leading to many deep and fascinating foundational issues in quantum field theory and particle physics, as well as questions concerning the metaphysics of fundamentality.

He has previously graduated with a degree in Mathematics from Linz (Austria), and completed studies in Linguistics and Philosophy in Munich (Germany), where he also earned a Master's degree in Philosophy of Science. This diverse academic background has equipped him with interdisciplinary perspectives that he brings to his philosophical work. Beyond his primary research focus, he finds himself drawn to questions in other areas of philosophy. Recently, he has developed an interest in questions surrounding the Philosophy of AI, particularly at the intersection with linguistics, exploring questions such as whether Large Language Models truly understand language.

Research Interests

• Philosophy of Quantum Field Theory and Particle Physics
• Metaphysics of Physics
• General Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of AI