Dr. Louise Estadieu

Projects

Post Doc Project
Trust in bioinspired technologies in light of the ‘normativity of nature’
In this project, we explore the concept of trust in relation to bioinspired technologies and materials as developed within livMatS, through interdisciplinary collaboration. The overall aim is to investigate whether people tend to trust life-like technologies more than other technologies, and to what extend this trust or mistrust is influenced by an assumed 'normativity of nature'. For this sake, we also explore what it actually means to trust someone/something in epistemic and ethical terms.

Project outcomes
In this project, we explored the philosophical implications of bio-inspired approaches, with a particular focus on trust. We investigated (a) whether people tend to trust life-like technologies and materials more than conventional ones, and (b) the underlying meaning of trust itself. Regarding (a), we conducted an interdisciplinary study examining people's perceptions of bioinspired soft robots compared to conventional robots (forthcoming). Our findings suggest that soft robots are perceived more positively, indicating that life-like qualities can foster greater trust in this specific context. For (b), we engaged in conceptual analysis of trust, particularly its implicit power dynamics and its distinction from related concepts such as reliability and confidence.

First supervisor

Prof. Dr. Oliver Müller

PhD Project

The relation of nature and mind in Hegel's Anthropology
My dissertation investigated how to understand the relation between nature and mind beyond dualistic and purely reductionist accounts. First, I examined whether humans possess a unique form of mind, setting them apart from other beings, or if this distinction is better understood as gradual. Expanding on this perspective, I discussed how the distinct human relationship between nature and mind, including the connections between mind and body, emotionality and rationality, can be conceived as a dialectical and mediating interplay between determination and self-determination that offers an alternative to purely dualistic and reductionistic positions.

First supervisor

Prof. Dr. Lore Hühn

Moved on to

Louisa started a position as a postdoc on trust/mistrust dynamics at ETH Zürich.

Publications in livMatS

• Societal implications of bioinspired technologies: Introduction to the special issue*
  Höfele, P. , Estadieu, L., Müller, O., Huhn, L., & Kiesel, A. (2025). Societal implications of bioinspired technologies: Introduction to the special issue Technology in Society, Volume 81, June 25, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102823
• Blurring the boundaries between living and non-living? Examining and mapping the living properties of engineered matter and systems*
  Lantada, A.D., Estadieu, L., Gorki, M., Höfele, P. , & Islam, M. (2025). Blurring the boundaries between living and non-living? Examining and mapping the living properties of engineered matter and systems Technology in Society, Volume 81, June 25, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102822
• Challenging the Biomimetic Promise—Do Laypersons Perceive Biomimetic Buildings as More Sustainable and More Acceptable?*
  Gorki, M., Speck, O., Möller, M., Fenn, J., Estadieu, L., Menges, A., Schiller, M., Speck, T., & Kiesel, A. (2025). Challenging the Biomimetic Promise—Do Laypersons Perceive Biomimetic Buildings as More Sustainable and More Acceptable? Biomimetics, 10(2), Article 2. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics10020086
• Allegra de Laurentiis. Hegel’s Anthropology. Life, Psyche, and Second Nature
  Estadieu, L. (2024). In: ), Allegra de Laurentiis. Hegel’s Anthropology. Life, Psyche, and Second Nature (review) in Hegel-Studien 57, p. 202-205.
• Connecting the methods of psychology and philosophy: Applying Cognitive-Affective Maps (CAMs) to identify ethical principles underlying the evaluation of bioinspired technologies*
  Höfele, P., Reuter, L., Estadieu, L., Livanec, S., Stumpf, M., & Kiesel, A. (2022). Connecting the methods of psychology and philosophy: Applying Cognitive-Affective Maps (CAMs) to identify ethical principles underlying the evaluation of bioinspired technologies. Philosophical Psychology, 1-24. doi: 10.1080/09515089.2022.2113770
• Das ‚Aufzehren der Natur‘. Hegels Analyse des Bösen in der Perspektive des Anthropozän.*
  Estadieu, L. (2021). Allgemeine Zeitschrift für Philosophie: Das Böse im Anthropozän? Heft 46.3/2021, doi: 10.12857/AZP.910460320
  
  
  * Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy – EXC-2193/1 – 390951807