Philosopher, Postdoctoral Researcher & Systemic Counselor
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Section for Phenomenological Psychopathology and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University Hospital, and a trained philosophical counselor.
I work at the intersection of Aristotelian naturalism, enactivist cognitive science, and transcendental philosophy to develop a non-reductive account of embodied rational capacities. My research addresses the normativity of mental illness, the conditions of autonomy, and the role of trust in social and therapeutic practices, drawing systematically on both the history of philosophy and contemporary cognitive science.
A new article in the Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie develops the concept of 'spitting' as a distinct form of false speech, different from both lying and bullshitting.
I am participating in a course on microphenomenological interviewing, led by PD Dr. Prisca Bauer, as part of our WIN-Kolleg research project.
My article on enactivism as a bridge between transcendental phenomenology and Aristotelian naturalism has been published in the Journal of Transcendental Philosophy.
Melichar, H. G. (2026). Verkörperte Vernunft. Kann der Enaktivismus Hegels Psychologie aktualisieren? Internationales Jahrbuch für philosophische Anthropologie, hrsg. von S. Schüz.
Melichar, H. G., Schmidt-Boddy, P., Vespermann, D., and Fuchs, Th. (2026). For real? – Epistemic trust within online environments and the lures of conspiracy thinking. Human Studies.
Melichar, H. G. (2025). Bullshitting und Spitting. Ein Essay zur Sprache im öffentlichen Raum. Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie. https://doi.org/10.1515/dzph-2025-0022
For a full list of publications see the Publications page.