Niklas Döbler - Psychology, Human Enhancement, SETI

My name is Niklas Alexander Döbler. I am a psychologist at the Department for General Psychology and Methodology at the University of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany. I am currently working on my Ph.D. thesis entitled: “Human Enhancement, Bioengineering, Transhumanism: On the foundation of a new kind of Psychology” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Claus-Christian Carbon.

My research interests can be roughly separated into three areas:

First, I am interested in Human Enhancement, i.e., the goal of improving humans by technological means. My focus here lies in integrating insights from various disciplines to understand the motivation, ethics, hopes, and fears that drive the debate about this controversial issue. I view Human Enhancement as a profoundly historical phenomenon, with its principles being possibly as old as humanity itself.
Secondly, I research how people engage with their material environment. This comprises human-technology interaction in various contexts: From computers to the immediate street we cross on our way to work. I am fascinated by the mind-constituting role of the environment and how humans, in their daily behavior, acquiesce to the world without questioning its functioning.
Lastly, my thoughts always wandered passionately towards the stars. Hence, I am also researching the psychological aspects of space exploration. A special focus of mine lies in thinking about extraterrestrials and the psychological mechanisms that fuel the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). For that purpose, my colleague Dr. Marius Raab and I have re-proposed the theoretical foundation of a psychological discipline concerned with how we think about extraterrestrials but also how extraterrestrials might think: Exopsychology

Work in these fields is mainly theoretically driven. Nevertheless, I have experience with quantitative and qualitative research designs and methods.

My passion for understanding and insight is my key driver in my research and teaching. I always attempt to see the big picture and emphasize the applicability of theory and the theoretical embedding of empirical practice. Hence, I strive to explain political and seemingly mundane phenomena from a psychological perspective. In an attempt to do so, I am regularly blogging about football from a psychological perspective and strong focus on Hertha Berlin.

My mother tongue is German, but you are also free to contact me in English by using my mail: niklas.doebler[at]uni-bamberg.de