Dr. Friso Timmenga is a postdoctoral researcher at the AIM – University Center for [Human and Data] Sciences at Universität Klagenfurt. His research explores the relationship between intercultural philosophy, transformative education, and digital technologies, with a particular focus on the question of how education can contribute to human flourishing in the digital age.
Timmenga's work brings together philosophical traditions and perspectives from across the world with contemporary debates on education, technology, and society. A central theme of his work is the transformative potential of philosophy. Rather than understanding education solely as the transmission of knowledge or skills, Timmenga explores how philosophical education can cultivate new ways of thinking, relating, and engaging with the world. His research connects this perspective to contemporary challenges posed by digitalization and artificial intelligence, including questions about ethics, human agency, and the conditions for human flourishing.
Timmenga holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Groningen, awarded cum laude in 2026. He previously studied philosophy and law at Leiden University and Erasmus University Rotterdam. His interdisciplinary background informs his approach to questions concerning philosophy, education, technology, ethics, and society. He has also been a visiting researcher at Osaka University and is a member of several international networks in Japanese, intercultural, and comparative philosophy.
Timmenga draws on philosophical traditions from across the world — including Japanese philosophy, Decolonial thought, and comparative philosophy — to engage contemporary debates on education, technology, and society.
Rather than viewing education as mere knowledge transmission, Timmenga investigates how philosophical education can cultivate new ways of thinking, relating, and engaging with the world and its challenges.
His work connects philosophical inquiry to contemporary challenges posed by digitalization and artificial intelligence, including questions about ethics, human agency, and the conditions for human flourishing.