Foundation For
Philosophical Orientationis orient oneself. Orientation precedes everything else,
all perceiving, thinking, and acting;
it decides which directions we pursue.
It seems simple but is very complex,
and it has so far hardly been explored.
Our Mission
The Foundation for Philosophical Orientation (FPO) is based on the philosophy of orientation, as developed by Werner Stegmaier, and strives to promote, research, and further develop this philosophy in theory and practice in academia and among the general public.
The FPO provides a place and a platform for philosophical research and investigation into not only the conditions and structures of human orientation, but also to what extent philosophical orientations are necessary, possible, and beneficial in everyday life. It seeks to philosophically reflect and confront the vast reorientations humanity is facing in the 21st century.
The FPO is neither for profit, nor does it follow any political or religious aims. It wants to support and promote orientation research not only in academia, but also in cooperation with people who are not able to withdraw into quiet rooms for reflection and who are professionally confronted with surprising situations – entrepreneurs and their employees, politicians, diplomats, journalists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, ministers, artists, athletes, marketeers, and many others. They all develop skills and competences of orientation that philosophy has traditionally passed over.
News and Updates
The Foundation for Philosophical Orientation is seeking a motivated Social Media Intern to join our team. This is a remote, part-time position of approximately 5 hours...
How is Artificial Intelligence reshaping the way we orient ourselves in the world and in relation to each other? Our new seminar, “Artificial Intelligence and Human...
This summer, members of the Foundation for Philosophical Orientation traveled to Sarzana, Italy, to take part for the third time in the annual MythosLogos Festival...
To commit means to take a position in a situation in relation to goals, values, actions, and other people in such a way that doing so shapes the future actions and...
From its very beginnings, philosophy has wrestled with the question of its nature and its own limitations. Every philosophy orients itself from a particular standpoint...
The world is undergoing profound disorientations: geopolitical upheaval, mass migrations, climate change, and economic instability are converging to form a landscape of...
"There is more reason in your body than in your deepest wisdom," Nietzsche wrote in his Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Our current FPO Fellow, Jes Heppler, explores what kind...
Congratulations to Keren Bester, our FPO Fellow 2025-26! 🎉 Keren Lucy Bester is a PhD candidate at the University of Dundee (UK) working at the intersection of...
We invite submissions for our 2025–2026 Philosophical Essay Prize Competition which centers on the question: Is the Left-Right Distinction Still Useful for Political...
Activities and Projects
Philosophical orientation cannot and should not only be studied, but it must also prove itself in practice. Therefore, the FPO will pursue a variety of projects, some academic in nature, many intended for the general public. The planned projects will continuously be developed and expanded.
PhD Dissertation Fellowships
Philosophical Prize Competition
Virtual Seminar
The Philosophy
of Orientation
A New Philosophical Approach
Philosophy has, from its very beginnings and throughout history, continually reoriented itself. Today, institutionalized at universities, philosophy oftentimes seems confined to either making terms more precise or to justifying moral norms. The philosophy of orientation, as Werner Stegmaier has developed it over several decades, instead observes and reflects how different philosophies orient themselves from different standpoints, in different perspectives, and within different horizons.