Dr. Federica Bocchi
Affiliations
Assistant Professor
Contact information
Web presence
Location
Office: Social Sciences Building1250
Background
Credentials
Postdoctoral Fellow, History and Philosophy of Science Unit - University of Copenhagen,
Educational Background
Ph.D Philosophy, Boston University, 2023
Master's Degree Università di Parma,
Bachelor's Degree Università di Parma,
Biography
I am a philosopher of science specializing in philosophy of biodiversity and environmental ethics. I research and write on biodiversity measurement and conservation interventions, trying to understand how these practices can promote or hamper environmental justice and data sovereignty.
Research
Areas of Research
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| Phil 601 | Seminar in Selected Problems: Environmental Philosophy | Winter 2027 |
Projects
Measurements do not only describe phenomena, they also contribute to shape how we experience the world. I am interested in understanding how values, ontological and ethical presuppositions, and priority settings are incorporated into the measurement practices in biodiversity science and conservation, including the development of global metrics and indicators. I believe some form of democratization of science can be extended to measurement practices in a way that maximizes both epistemic and non-epistemic values. I want to understand how to harness participatory practices in measurement development to achieve social goals.
Ecoweaver is an interdisciplinary, multinational, and long-term project to develop a public-facing platform that synthesizes ecological knowledge to inform environmental intervention. The project brings together ecologists, computer scientists, linguists, philosophers of science, and artists. The website and GitHub repository are available online for consultation, as well as our positionality statement.
I lead a subproject to implement the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Sovereignty within EcoWeaver, ensuring that Indigenous data, agency, and rights are cared for throughout the AI-assisted, highly technical evidence synthesis workflow. Stay tuned for updates.
Using a radical social epistemology angle, I problematize the view that we can identify and train individuals to become "wicked scientists." I argue that no single individual can effectively address wicked problems due to conceptual and practical constraints. Instead, I propose a new concept, "emergent expertise," as the only viable way to think about expertise in wicked-problem scenarios. This project is a collaboration with Mason Majszak (University of Chicago).
This is a series of interconnected papers on the epistemic and social dimensions of data and measurement practices in the highly institutionalized context of global biodiversity conservation. I have been thinking about how biodiversity geolocation data privacy policies and protocols are meant to guide data stewardship while promoting the interests and goals of a subset of conservation actors. I've co-run a qualitative study on taxonomic classification practices within the Species Survival Commission (part of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature - IUCN). I've been exploring the epistemic and non-epistemic values embedded in the development of phylogenetic metrics, as constrained by and validated within historical and institutional circumstances. These projects are in collaboration with Joeri Witteveen (University of Copenhagen) & Arne Moers (Simon Fraser University).
Awards
- Bloom Dissertation Fellowship, Boston University. 2023
- Women’s Guild Award, Boston University. 2023
- Edwin S. and Ruth M. White Prize, Boston University. 2023
- Abner Shimony Prize in Philosophy of Science, Boston University - Department of Philosophy. 2022
- HUB Course Enhancement Award for the course Intro to Environmental Philosophy & Environmental Ethics , Center for Teaching and Learning, Boston University. 2022
Publications
- Are We in a Sixth Mass Extinction? The Challenges of Answering and the Value of Asking. Federica Bocchi, Alisa Bokulich, Leticia Castillo Brache, Gloria Grandpierre, Aja Watkins. British Journal for Philosophy of Science. (2025)
- Turning Biodiversity Data into Evidence: The Role of Protocols in the Epistemology of Evidence-Based Conservation. Federica Bocchi. Biosocieties. (2025)
- Biodiversity Skepticism and Measurement Practices. Federica Bocchi. Biology & Philosophy. (2024)
- Metrics in Biodiversity Conservation and the Value-Free Ideal of Science. Federica Bocchi. Synthese. (2024)
- Looking for a New Environmental Axiology. Ecofeminism and Indigenous Ethics (in Italian). Federica Bocchi. La Torre di Babele. (2025)
- Biodiversity vs. Paleodiversity Measurements: The Incommensurability Problem. Federica Bocchi. European Journal for Philosophy of Science. (2022)
- Pathogen versus Microbiome Causation in the Holobiont. Federica Bocchi, Aja Watkins. Biology & Philosophy. (2021)
- Ecologies of the Past. Federica Bocchi, Adrian Currie. Routledge Handbook for Philosophy of Ecolog. (2026)
- Kuhn’s ‘5th Law of Thermodynamics’: Measurement, Data, and Anomalies. Federica Bocchi, Alisa Bokulich. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions at 60. (2024)
- Following the Steps to The Scientific Method. Federica Bocchi, Alisa Bokulich. ISIS, A Journal of the History of Science Society. (2022)
- AI-Powered Biology and the End of Theory. Federica Bocchi. (2026)
In the News
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