Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Practical Philosophy, Social Philosophy & Center for Human Studies and Social Change - Rahel Jaeggi

Livia von Samson

About

I’m a PhD candidate and junior faculty member (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) at Humboldt University in Berlin. My thesis is supervised by Rahel Jaeggi (HU Berlin) and Rachel Fraser (Oxford / MIT). Prior to this, I studied philosophy and music in Heidelberg, Berlin (Humboldt University and University of Arts), and Oxford. I also spent some time as a Fulbright scholar with Sally Haslanger at MIT. 

My primary interests lie in social and political philosophy, feminism, and epistemology (and their various intersections). In my thesis, I argue that care labour should be socialized to dissolve familialist society.

Office Hours

General office hour (during term time):

Thursdays, 3-4pm

Please write me an email.  

Publications

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Papers

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Public Philosophy

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Anthologies


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  • Becker, R.; Hagen, D.; von Samson, L. (Hg.) (2022). Ästhetik nach Adorno. Positionen zur Gegenwartskunst. Berlin: Verbrecher Verlag. 

Talks

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2025
  • »Familialist Society and its Wrongs«, GAP 12. Kongress der Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie, Düsseldorf, 11.9.2025.
  • »Why Family Abolition?«, Politically Engaged Philosophy (PEP), Berlin, 18.7.2025.
  • »Children's Autonomy, Imagination, and Experiments in Living«, Just Parenthood Lecture Series, Basel, Switzerland, 5.5.2025.

  • »Children's Autonomy, Imagination, and Experiments in Living«, Oxford Graduate Conference in Political Theory, Nuffield College, 29.4.2025.

  • »Is Immanent Critique Possible?«, Kolloquium Prof. Thomas Schmidt, HU Berlin, 17.4.2025.

  • »Familienabolitionismus heißt Care Vergesellschaften«, Sorgearbeit, Vergesellschaftung und Planwirtschaft, Workshop, Berlin, 3.4.2025.

2024
  • »Is Immanent Critique Possible?«, Constitutivism in Classical German Philosophy and Today, HU Berlin, 30.10.2024.

  • »Kollontai on Property Love«, Ambivalenzen der Fürsorge, Akademie der Künste, München, 17.10.2024.

  • »The Wrong of the Privatization of Reproductive Labour«, 13th Humboldt-Princeton Graduate Conference, HU Berlin, 7.6.2024.

  • »Materialistische & Queerfeministische Kritik der Kleinfamilie«, video talk, Workshop »AG Gender und Feminismus«, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, 26.4.2024.

  • »What (if anything) is Wrong with the Family?«, MIT Work in Progress Seminar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 20.3.2024.

  • »Is Immanent Critique Possible?«, Submitted Symposium, 121st APA Central Division Meeting, New Orleans, 23.02.2024.
  • »Why Family Abolition?«, Workshop on Gender and Philosophy (WOGAP), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15.02.2024.
2023
  • »Genealogy as Ideology (Critique)«, Panel ›The Role of Genealogy in Moral and Political Philosophy‹, 7th Annual Meeting, PPE Society, New Orleans, 4.11.2023.
  • »Family Abolition and the State«, MANCEPT-Workshop ›Intimacy and the State‹, University of Manchester, 13.09.2023.
  • »Genealogical Explanations and Social Change«, MANCEPT-Workshop ›Causal Histories: The Role of Genealogical inquiry in Moral, Social and Political Philosophy‹, University of Manchester, 12.09.2023.
  • »Family Abolition as Radical Emancipation« Critical Emancipations, Leuven, 12.05.2023.  
  • »Is Immanent Critique Possible?«, Oxford Graduate Conference in Political Theory, Nuffield College, 24.4.2023.
  • »Zur Kritik des liberalen Individuums«, Diskussionsveranstaltung mit Bafta Sarbo, diffrakt, 1.03.2023      
2022🖉
  • »Sex & Education: on the specific wrong of student teacher relationships«, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittemberg, »Raum für ___«, »FemPower«, 12.12.2022.
  • »Is Immanent Critique Possible?«, GAP 11. Kongress der Gesellschaft für Analytische Philosophie, HU Berlin, 13.09.2022.
  • »On the Metanormative Foundations of Immanent Critique«, 11th Humboldt-Princeton Graduate Conference in Philosophy, HU Berlin, 20.08.2022.

  • »Family Abolition: From Capitalism to Communized Care«, Mommy-Daddy-Me, Graduate Conference, Villanova University, 9.4.2022 (online).

2021 🖉
  • »Allyship vs. Solidarity«, MANCEPT-Workshop ›The Uses of Solidarity‹ University of Manchester, 10.09.2021 (online).
  • »Hegels Theorie der Familie und die Methode eines materialistischen Feminismus«, Workshop ›Materialistischer Feminismus‹, SWIP Germany, 16.6.2021 (online).  
  • »Shame as Ideology Critique?«, Workshop ›Philosophische Auseinandersetzungen mit Rassismus‹, AG Feministische Philosophie, HU Berlin, 16.4.2021 (online).
2020🖉
  • »Hermeneutical Justice, Critical Genealogy and Emancipatory Change«, Ockham Society, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, 22.5.2020.
  • »Why Does History Matter?«, Graduate Seminar, St. Peter’s College, University of Oxford, 19.5.2020.
2019🖉
  • »What is Feminist Philosophy?«, Graduate Seminar, St. Peter’s College, University of Oxford, 11.2019.
2018 🖉
  • »Musikalische Erkenntnis? Überlegungen zur Bedeutung Neuer Musik«, ›Musik und Ästhetik‹, 31. Symposium des Dachverbandes der Studierenden der Musikwissenschaften, 10.11.2018.

  • »Musikalische Semantik bei Nelson Goodman und Theodor W. Adorno«, Workshop ›Philosophie & Ästhetik der Musik‹, HU Berlin, Juli 2018   

Commentaries 🖉
  • »What is Experimentality?«, Robert Mark Simpson, Manuscript Workshop »Experimentality« UCL, 4.9.2025. 
  • »Racial Fetishes«, Waner Zhang, 13th Humboldt-Princeton Graduate Conference, HU Berlin, 7.6.2024. 
  • »Hegel on the Family Form«, Andreja Novakovic, Workshop »Hegel and the family«, HU Berlin, 4.6.2024. 
  • »Frederick Douglass on Domination and Freedom«, Rafeeq Hasan, »Oxford-Rutgers Workshop on Humanistic Ethics«, Oxford, 1.6.2024. 
  • »The Toxic Ideology of Longtermism«, Alice Crary, Workshop »Ideology and Social Transformation«, HU Berlin, 27.6.2023.

Teaching

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August 2025 Summer School, LMU München
WiSe 24-25 Liebe / Love. Guests: Manon Garcia, Dee Payton, Luce deLire, Lila Sovia. 
SoSe 24 Autonomie, Entfremdung, Spontaneität / Autonomy, Alienation, Spontaneity. Guests: Daniela Dover, Jonathan Gingerich.
SoSe 23   Ideologie und adaptive Präferenzen / Ideology and adaptive preferences. Guests: Serene Khader, Sally Haslanger. 
WiSe 22-23  

Liberaler Feminismus und seine Grenzen / Liberal Feminism and its Limits. Guest: Gina Schouten. 

WiSe 21-22, SoSe 22 & WiSe 22-23

Feminismus und Familie / Feminism and the Family - Projekttutorium with Jo Eckert, in WiSe 22-23 as X-Tutorial, also with Carolina Faggion. Guest: Sophie Lewis.

SoSe 21 & WiSe 21-22

Eigentum und Herrschaft / Property and Domination - Projekttutorium
with Amin Wagner. Guests: Eva von Redecker, Christian Schmidt. 

SoSe 19

 Adornos Ästhetik – Gesellschaftskritik?. Q-Tutorial

WiSe 18-19

Musik – Kritik – Utopie. Q-Tutorial

 

Contact 

Office: Unter den Linden 6,    
Room 3042c

E-Mail: livia.samson /at/ hu-berlin.de

Postal Address:

Institut für Philosophie
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin