EPLab pursues the development and application of traditional philosophical approaches to social practices and problems by focusing on human action and value construction at the ethical and political levels.

Within the framework of the strategic project of IFILNOVA, EPLab has defined as its main objective the analysis of the role that values play in the variety of contemporary individual and collective experiences. In order to achieve this goal, two methodological assumptions apply, namely (i) that there is no clear-cut disciplinary separation between ethics and political theory with regard to the implications of the current challenges posed by values; and (ii) that any discussion of value construction at the ethical and political levels implies an interface with other disciplines. By exploring different areas of practical philosophy, EPLab researchers are encouraged to seek out interdisciplinary networks that include members from other laboratories and research units.

Current research of EPLab members concentrates on issues such as moral knowledge (at the intersection of epistemology, meta-ethics and philosophy of language), the nature of normativity and rule-following (at the intersection of philosophy of action, philosophy of law and political theory), and the contemporary challenges faced by concepts like sovereignty, representation, rights, justice and liberalism (at the intersection of political theory and intellectual history).

EPLab’s activities, externally-funded projects, and research outputs demonstrate its effective promotion of an outward dialogue with three distinct audiences, namely:

1. Academics and advanced students;

2. Other research groups and units dealing with the ethical and political implications of value construction;

3. Public sphere, in connection with IFILNOVA’s dissemination interface.