Mara-Daria Cojocaru

I am currently fellow and writer in virtual residence at PAN (People and Animals Network). Having been PI of the project “Global Solidarity” (Rottendorf/Munich School of Philosophy) between 2018 and 2021, I am  now working on “animal-assisted philosophy” – a blend of philosophical and creative writing that is not just about, but with and for other animals. I have taught at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, the Munich School of Philosophy and the Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, and I have been visiting scholar at the University of Sheffield, the University of Brighton and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. My main interests are in moral and political philosophy, the philosophy of emotion, and human-animal-relations.


I had discovered Mary Midgley in 2012, after my PhD in Germany, and was, sadly, rather alone in my enthusiasm for her work. Therefore, I focussed on American Pragmatism for my Postdoc. However, I was fortunate to rediscover Mary Midgley around the time when her last book came out, and very much appreciated reading her and the rest of the quartet in the company of fellow enthusiasts at the London Reading Group. Together with John Dewey and Charles Sanders Peirce, I regard Midgley as my philosophical pioneer in the book I wrote on emotions, animal ethics, and moral pragmatics. Given that I am also pursuing a career in creative writing, I have a keen interest in Iris Murdoch, too. I learned a lot from reading Anscombe and Foot as well, of course.