Professor Dr. Martin Thellefsen

Biography

Martin Muderspach Thellefsen is an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen, specializing in the philosophical foundations of knowledge organization and information science. His research critically examines the tension between universalist and technological approaches to classification, emphasizing the socially constructed and context-dependent nature of knowledge. Thellefsen’s work integrates pragmatic semiotics, particularly the Peircean tradition, with a domain-analytic framework. This approach provides a robust methodology for analyzing how information is signified and negotiated across different historical, cultural, and epistemic communities. He views knowledge not as a static collection of facts but as a dynamic, continuous, and fallible process of interpretation. His ultimate goal is to develop epistemologically sound and ethically responsible principles for designing information systems that are context-aware and capable of supporting the dynamic and contested nature of human meaning-making.

Research Interests

Experience