Konrad Ott

Konrad Ott (born 20 May 1959) is a German philosopher with a special interest in discourse ethics and environmental ethics.

Biography Konrad Ott was born in 1959 in Bergkamen, West Germany. From 1982 to 1986, he studied philosophy, history and German philology at the Goethe University Frankfurt. He completed his PhD thesis on Menschenkenntnis als Wissenschaft. Über die Entstehung und Logik der Historie als der Wissenschaft vom Individuellen under the supervision of Jürgen Habermas at the same institution in 1989. He is regarded as a representative of the Frankfurt School's third generation.

Ott is currently Professor for Philosophy and Ethics of the Environment at Kiel University. From 2000 to 2008 he was a member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment. From 1997 to 2012 Ott was professor for environmental ethics at the University of Greifswald. Ott is also known as a critic of mass migration to Europe. Regarding migration from Africa via the Mediterranean, Ott postulated in 2018 that "this route must be dried out"; the merit of Italy's Home Office Secretary Matteo Salvini should be acknowledged "at least [...] to have made this route less attractive".