Martine Nida-Rümelin

Martine Nida-Rümelin (born 1957 in Munich) is a philosopher.

Nida-Rümelin studied philosophy, psychology, mathematics and political science at the University of Munich.

In her doctoral thesis, she discusses the knowledge argument, by the Australian philosopher Frank Jackson, which is directed against a materialist conception of phenomenal consciousness.

In it she presents one of the most important arguments, which is based on qualia, i.e., individual instances of subjective, conscious experience.

Her transformed version of the Mary's room thought-experiment has been much discussed and coined the "Nida-Rümelin room" by John Perry.

In her habilitation she developed a non-reductionist view about the identity of conscious individuals.

Since 1999, she has been a professor at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Her main areas of interest are philosophy of mind, theory of knowledge and philosophy of language.

The major part of her published work is concerned with the special status of conscious individuals and aims at developing a non-materialist account which avoids the weaknesses of traditional dualism.

Phenomenal consciousness, identity of conscious beings through time and across possible worlds, and the active role of the subject in its doings are central themes of her research.

Rational intuitions and phenomenological reflexion play a prominent role in her philosophical approach.

In 2019, she won the Jean Nicod Prize.

She is the daughter of the sculptor Rolf Nida-Rümelin, the granddaughter of the sculptor Wilhelm Nida-Rümelin and the sister of the philosopher and politician Julian Nida-Rümelin.

Between 2019 and 2022 she was Visiting Professor at the University of Italian Switzerland.