Annina J. Loets (Germany)

Annina Loets
BPhil in Philosophy

During my time as an Ertegun scholar, I read for the B.Phil in Philosophy at Corpus Christi College, focusing on various topics in Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Language. My B.Phil thesis assessed a range of influential arguments by Leibniz's Law which seek to establish the non-identity of material things and the matter of which they are made. It is often claimed that such non-identity arguments rest on some kind of linguistic illusion, and my thesis provides a detailed scrutiny of this charge. I have greatly benefited from being an Ertegun Scholar. The Ertegun House provides and ideal work space and a buzzing, tightly knit intellectual community. I am deeply grateful to Mica Ertegun for all her support over the years.

Life After Ertegun House

As an Alumna of the Ertegun programme, I remain an active part of the Ertegun community. Presently, I am a D.Phil candidate in Philosophy at Trinity College, Oxford. My doctoral thesis investigates the metaphysics and semantics of qualifications with `as' or `qua', e.g. Hannah is kind as a parent but severe as a critic, New York is great as a City but terrible as a place to raise children, pain states are fundamental qua physical states, but non-fundamental qua mental states etc. On the face of it, such claims are inconsistent as incompatible properties are ascribed to a single thing. My thesis explores in depth a range of theories which explain how such cases can be understood and how inconsistencies can be avoided.  I am also interested in the implications of my research for the metaphysics of the social world, in particular how it can shed light on the notion of intersectionality.