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"Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities" was initiated as a research project at the University of Tübingen in 1985. The issue of responsibility must be raised within the particular sciences, it cannot be solved from an external point of view. Philosophers and theologians cannot answer comprehensive questions for other scientists. In our talks and discussions we rather try to inspire accompanying ethical research in the minds of the specialists themselves. The scientists who have been meeting in the colloquium "Ethics in the Sciences" believe that communication, exchange of information and a certain sensitivity to the nature of the problems involved are a means to achieve this end. The research projects on ethics in the sciences and humanities, the postgraduate dissertations and the education program of the postgraduate college also contribute to this process.
The interfaculty Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities was founded in 1990 after five years of preparation. Its foundation was recommended by the State of Baden-Württemberg's "Commission 2000". The tasks of the Center for Ethics and the range of its activities have continued to increase. The general interest in advice from ethics in the sciences has grown enormously. The structure of our institute has served as a basis for the foundation of similar institutes at other universities (e.g. Zürich, Fribourg, Hannover, Nijmegen). The conception of an interdisciplinary "ethics in the sciences and humanities" was approved by the State of Baden-Württemberg's Landesforschungsbeirat (State Research Advisory Council) and the German Wissenschaftsrat (National Scientific Council) in a statement on environmental research in Germany. Five faculties of the University of Tübingen support the Center for Ethics:
The Center's work is divided into four project areas:
A number of research projects sponsored by the German Research Society (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(internet-link: "http://www.dfg-bonn.de/") ) and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology(internet-link: "http://www.bmbf.de/") have been completed or are currently in progress. The initial interdisciplinary research projects examined the ethical problems of genetic engineering in agriculture, genome analysis, the release of genetically manipulated organisms and transgenic livestock. General philosophical problems of justification in ethics and the problem of relating fundamental ethical insights to the specific problems of applied ethics have always been a further field of research at the Center for Ethics. Since the center started its work we have regularly organized symposia, lecture series and experts' colloquia on general problems of ethics and of ethics in biology and medicine. The circle of sixty professors which for a number of years had organized these activities still plays an important role in our work. The postgraduate college(javascriptDreiFenster('gk_titel.html',0,'menue_gk.html',1,'kolleg.html',2)) was established in 1991. It was approved by the German Research Society in 1994 and 1997, thus extending the term of the college for three years in each case. The number of scholarships has been raised and 14 scholarships for doctoral and two scholarships for post-doctoral studies are available. The range of our research activities has expanded considerably. In line with our concept of creating new institutions of scientific cooperation in the field of ethics two chairs for specialized ethics were set up in the wake of the institute's foundation: the Chair for Ethics in the Biological Sciences(javascriptDreiFenster('bio_titel.html',0,'menue_bio.html',1,'bio.html',2)) and the Chair for Ethics in Medicine(javascriptDreiFenster('med_titel.html',0,'menue_med.html',1,'med.html',2)) At the Documentation for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities(javascriptDreiFenster('doku_titel.html',0,'menue_doku.html',1,'doku.html',2)) monographs and essays are collected and catalogued according to subjects and registered in our computer based data bank. Besides its use by the members of the postgraduate college, the center also offers a bibliographic service on request. Relating applied ethics to technology assessment is considered to be of special importance. For this reason the Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities and the Academy of Technology Assessment Baden-Württemberg(internet-link: "http://www.afta-bw.de/") entered into an agreement of cooperation. European cooperation has been a focus of the Center for Ethics in the Sciences' work during the last years. In 1992 an European symposium on the 'Ethics of Human Genome Analysis' was held. On April 1, 1996 the European Network for Biomedical Ethics(javascriptDreiFenster('enbe_titel.html',0,'menue_enbe.html',1,'enbe.html',2)) was initiated by the Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities at the University of Tübingen following extensive preparatory work. Several institutes of ethics and thirty well-known European scientists work together in this cooperative research project financed by the European Community. The Center for Ethics is also committed to expanding its scientific documentation to an European Documentation on the Ethics of Biotechnology(javascriptDreiFenster('endebit_titel.html',0,'menue_endebit.html',1,'endebit.html',2)) in cooperation with similar projects on an European level. There is a close cooperation with the Institutes of Ethics at Fribourg(internet-link: "http://www.unifr.ch/iiedh/") , Zürich(internet-link: "http://www.unizh.ch/sozialethik/") , Nijmegen(internet-link: "http://www.kun.nl/phil/english/programs/cekun.html") and Sheffield(internet-link: "http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/sible/") in the organization of joint symposia and an exchange program for scientists. The Center has also scientific exchange programs with the Kennedy Institute(internet-link: "http://guweb.georgetown.edu/kennedy/") in Washington and the Hastings Center(internet-link: "http://www.cpn.org/sections/affiliates/hastings_center.html") in New York. In 1997 we plan to hold a workshop in cooperation with scientists from Eastern Europe. Some members of the institute are working to convey the results of their research work in ethics at the level of political consultation. Professor Mieth, for example, is a member of the advisory board on "Ethical Implications of Biotechnology" at the European Commission. He is an advisor to the Federal Government and the Länder's Commission "Genome Analysis" and to the exposition "Genetic engineering" which is being prepared by the Bundesausstellungshalle(internet-link: "http://www.kah-bonn.de/") (Federal Republic of Germany's exhibition hall) in Bonn. Statements and reports on problems of patenting genetically manipulated livestock, the Bioethics Convention(internet-link: "http://stars.coe.fr/doc/adoc0496/adoc7622.htm") and the UNESCO Declaration(internet-link: "http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/EJ63/EJ63B.html") on the protection of the human genome have also been issued.
Board and Academic Committee
Board
Academic Committee
Prof. Dr. Eve-Marie Engels
Prof. Dr. Eilert Herms
Prof. Dr. Dietmar Mieth
Prof. Dr. Dietrich Niethammer
Prof. Dr. Reiner Wimmer
Address
University of Tübingen
Speaker of the Center:
Scientific Coordination:
Administration:
Office hours
Last modified on 16 May 1997 |
