Federica
Bocchi
Research
Welcome! On this page, you can find information about my research areas and a short version of my Curriculum Vitae.
Additionally, I am dedicated to understanding the limitations and challenges associated with employing paleodiversity and paleoenvironmental data for species and habitat preservation and the epistemic strength of claims about extinction risk and the "sixth mass extinction." I collaborate with conservationists to promote awareness and develop an inclusive conservation agenda rooted in decolonial values.
My research is actively evolving with ongoing projects in "critical metrology" aimed at fostering greater equity in conservation metrics. Simultaneously, I am developing a model to guide the democratization of conservation science, ensuring broader participation and engagement, especially of underrepresented groups.
For a detailed account of my academic journey, please refer to my Curriculum Vitae. Thank you for taking the time to explore my academic and non-academic interests!
My area of specialization is environmental philosophy, with a focus on the interplay between measurement, biodiversity science, and values.
My research method involves using philosophy to critically engage with the scientific practices of classifying and measuring biodiversity. The practices I am especially interested in include the production of diversity indices and the journeys biodiversity data undergo from collection to their use as evidence in ecology and evidence-based conservation.
Academic CV
Current Position
2023 - 2025
Postdoctoral Researcher,
Section For History and Philosophy of Science
University of Copenhagen
This postdoctoral fellowship will allow me to explore the relationship between biodiversity science and conservation practices from a practice-oriented philosophy of science. I am part of Joeri Witteveen's research project, "Tackling the conservationist's dilemma: Towards a pluralist philosophy of taxonomy for species conservation policy." I am also developing a participatory model for conservation that accounts for the interests and wellbeing of local and indigenous communities, stay tuned!
Education
2018-2023
Ph.D. in Philosophy
Boston University (USA)
My doctoral dissertation, titled "Philosophy of Biodiversity: Conceptual and Practical Issues in Measurement, Data, and Conservation" investigates ontological, epistemological, and methodological issues in measuring and conserving biodiversity. My supervisor was Prof. Alisa Bokulich, and my dissertation committee included Prof. Rachell Powell and Sabina Leonelli.
2013-2016
Master Degree in Philosophy
Università di Parma (Italy)
My Master Dissertation, supervised by Prof. Fabrizio Amerini, investigates old and new problems in philosophy of biology in connection with Aristotle's Corpus Biologicus. I focus especially on characterizing Aristole's notion of eidos and Aristotelian essentialism.
2010-2013
Bachelor Degree
Università di Parma
My Bachelor dissertation, titled "Mind-Body Identity: Necessity or Contingency?", supervised by Marco Santambrogio, investigates modality in the body-mind debate, critically analyzing the arguments developed by Saul Kripke and David Lewis.
Publications
Forthcoming in Synthese
Forthcoming
(in Italian)
Bocchi, F., “Alla Ricerca di una Nuova Sensibilità Ambientale. Prospettive Ecofemmiste e Indigene” .
2024
Bokulich A., Bocchi, F “Kuhn’s ‘5th Law of Thermodynamics’: Measurement, Data, and Anomalies” in Kuhn’s ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’ at 60 edited by Brad Wray, Cambridge University Press
2023 [2025]
Bocchi, F., Bokulich, A., Castillo Brache, L., Grandpierre, G., Watkins, A., “Are We in a Sixth Mass Extinction? The Challenges of Answering and Value of Asking.” British Journal for Philosophy of Science
Featured in:
2022
Bocchi, F., “Biodiversity vs. Paleodiversity Measurements: the Incommensurability Problem.” European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 12:64, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194- 022-00494-6
Featured in:
2022
Bokulich, A., Bocchi, F., (2022) “Following the Steps to The Scientific Method” in ISIS, A Journal of the History of Science Society, Vol.113, No.1.
2020
Refereed Conference Presentations
“What is evidence in evidence-based biodiversity conservation? Potential, Actual, and Good Evidence in IUCN’s Red List”
Integrating the History and Philosophy of Biodiversity
(Brussels Museum of Natural History) Oct. 20-21, 2023
“Turning Biodiversity Data into Evidence: Data Communities and the Red List of Threatened Species”
Biennial Meeting of the international society for the history, philosophy, and social studies of biology (ISHPSSB), Session: Making Data Communities (Toronto, CA) July 9-15, 2023
“Measuring the Success of Conservation Strategies: A Postcolonial Agenda”
Philosophy of Science Association (PSA)
(Pittsburgh) Nov. 10-13, 2022
“Looking Backward to Move Forward. Processualism in Conservation Paleoecology, and the Kruger National Park”
The Future of the Past: Philosophical Issues in the “Historical Sciences”
“Biodiversity vs. Paleodiversity Measurements: the Incommensurability Problem”
World Biodiversity Forum
(Davos, Switzerland) Jul. 1-4, 2022
“Biodiversity vs. Paleodiversity Measurements: the Incommensurability Problem”
Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) (Baltimore) Nov. 11-14, 2021
“Biodiversity vs. Paleodiversity Measurements: the Incommensurability Problem”
European Philosophy of Science Asssociation (EPSA) Conference
(Turin, Italy) Sept. 15-18, 2021
“Making Global Biodiversity: from Establishing a Measurand to Assessing Accuracy.”
Society for the Metaphysics of Science Conference
Sept. 1-4, 2021
“Making Global Data vs Making Data Global: Comparing Climate and Biodiversity.”
Integrated History and Philosophy of Climate Science Workshop
(Bern, Switzerland) Aug. 27-29, 2021
“The Influence of Processual Ontology and Deep Time Literacy on Conservation: the case of the Kruger National Park”
British Society for Philosophy of Science (BSPS) Conference
July 7-9, 2021
“Justifying Inferences: the Case of Paleodiversity Measurements and the Contemporary Biodiversity Crisis.”
Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science Conference
May 31, 2021
“Toward a Clarification of ‘Aristotelian Biological Essentialism’”
American Association of Philosophy (APA) Eastern Meeting
(Philadelphia) Jan. 7-11, 2020
“Biological Essentialism. One last Round?” Society for the Metaphysics of Science Conference
(Toronto) Nov. 7-10, 2019
Invited Presentations
"Evidence in EB Conservation"
Interdisciplinary workshop "Taming Complexity in Ecology"
(Bad Blankenburg) Feb 27-29, 2024
“Non Epistemic Considerations and Performance Metrics in Biodiversity Conservation”
Facing the Anthropocene: Interdisciplinary Approaches workshop
(Stanford University) Jan. 31, 2024
“Looking Backward to Move Forward. Philosophical Issues in Conservation Paleoecology”
The Boston Colloquium for Philosophy of Science
(Boston University) May 5-6, 2023
“Philosophical Reflections on Decolonizing Conservation”
Center for the Study of Europe at Boston University Seminar Series
(Boston University) Feb. 21, 2023
“Turning Biodiversity Data Into Evidence: the Red List of Threatened Species”
History and Philosophy of Science Colloquium Series
(University of Copenhagen) Feb. 1, 2023
“Alla Ricerca di una Nuova Sensibilit`a Ambientale: Prospettive Ecofemministe e Native a Confronto”
Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) Parma seminar series
(Università di Parma) Jan. 25, 2023
“Kuhn on the Value of Discordance in Metrology”
Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies
(Aarhus University, Denmark) Jun. 1-2, 2022
Research Honours and Awards
2023
Bloom Dissertation Fellowship
Boston University Graduate School of Arts Sciences
This competitive Research Fellowship is designed to provide summer funding to GRS doctoral students in the social sciences and the humanities, who will be in their final summer prior to graduating, enabling them to focus on completing their dissertation.
Link: https://www.bu.edu/philo/2023/02/14/graduate-students-marie-le-blevennec-and-federica-bocchi-awarded-bloom- dissertation-fellowships/
Edwin S. and Ruth M. White Prize
Boston University Center for the Humanities
This competitive merit-based award is granted to graduate students doing excellent work in the humanities.
Link: https://www.bu.edu/humanities/2023/04/20/2023-buch-student-awards-recipients/
Women’s Guild award
Boston University
This competitive merit-based award is granted to outstanding graduate students at Boston University who identify as female.
Link: https://www.bu.edu/womensguild/scholarships-awards/scholarship-winners/
Dissertation Funding Award
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Philosophy
This selective research award provides economic support to graduate students to enhance their dissertations and conduct field research.
2022
Abner Shimony Prize in Philosophy of Science for the project “Philosophy of Biodiversity and Conservation”
Department of Philosophy, Boston University
This research prize is awarded annually to one student for an exemplary project or paper on an important issue in the philosophy of science and/or environmental philosophy and demonstrates the interdisciplinary thinking necessary to solve complex socio-economic impacts on the environment.
Dissertation Funding Award
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Philosophy
This selective research award provides economic support to graduate students to enhance their dissertations. I used this award to visit Sabina Leonelli's Research Group at the University of Exeter
2021
Boston University Grad. Organization Research Grant
Graduate Student Organization (GSO) (Boston University)
This competitive research award helps graduate students at Boston University to advance their dissertation writing. I used this award to visit Sabina Leonelli's Research Group at the University of Exeter.
2019
Peter Diamandopoulos Fellowships Fund in Hellenic Studies
Stata Chair in the Department of Philosophy, Boston University [ 2019 ]
This generous research award is meant for students interested in pursuing research in Ancient Philosophy. I used this award to attend a Summer semester at Harvard University in the Department of Classics.
Academic Teaching
Instructor of Philosophy
2022
Environmental Philosophy and Environmental Ethics
Department of Philosophy, Boston University
2021
Reasoning and Argumentation: Why Trust Science?
Department of Philosophy, Boston University