RECENT POSTS 
The Bologna-Declaration was signed fifteen years ago and envisioned a regime of quantification, standardization, and quality assessment for Europe’s universities. Since then, we have witnessed the adaptation of education and science in line with the Europe of Knowledge fancied by ministers of education. To finalize this process, we should consider to replace students with computers, too. ... Read more
Have you ever thought about what kind of system you are studying in? Certainly it is based on meaningful standards, isn’t it? But that something is meaningless does not prevent administrations from requiring it of you. ... Read more
Assessment has become ubiquitous in the present science system. Particularly output measures such as the Impact Factor or h-index are very influential in determining scientific progress at all career stages. Presently, there is a surge in resistance against this assessment regime – resistance that also criticizes many other things going wrong in the present science system. One example for such resistance is the Science in Transition movement that just organized an international meeting at the Dutch Royal Academy of Arts... Read more
Scientists have often commented on political/social problems and some suggested that new technology provides the solution. People calling themselves transhumanists extend this idea radically: By overcoming human nature, using means such as genetic modification or brain implants, we will also overcome our large-scale problems until ultimately turning into a species of post-humans. ... Read more
The Chair for Neurophilosophy at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich organizes an international and interdisciplinary meeting on neurophilosophy on March 21 & 22 2013. Colleagues interested in the neurosciences and their implications for other disciplines and society are invited to participate. ... Read more
It is already the fifth necessary restructuring of the governing cabinet of Germany within the current legislative period. Annette Schavan, minister for education and science, declared to step down from her function today in order to prevent further damage to her office and the government after the philosophical faculty of the University of Düsseldorf declared her doctoral degree to be invalid on Tuesday February 5. These cases lead to a general credibility crisis of German politics. ... Read more
Scientists will analyze the genome of the young man who recently killed almost thirty people in a mass shooting in the USA. Biology has been used frequently to understand criminality in the course of history, but with little success. It is unlikely that the genetic analysis will contribute to understanding the terrible crime. By contrast, it carries the risk of stigmatizing people with similar biological features and of overlooking psychological and sociological explanations. ... Read more
Many sciences use a broad model of causation that allows causal relations to exist on many levels, including social interaction; a reductionist view, by contrast, would even hamper scientific progress instead of supporting it; and agnosticism, after all, is a viable and rational position in a debate if neither side can present convincing arguments. ... Read more
The world is more than just an assembly of physical particles. Pragmatical arguments force us to give up the idea that, ultimately, everything must be accounted for by physics. This allows a pluralistic and complementary view for all scientific disciplines and helps us to avoid a philosophical stance that takes the world to be much more simple than we observe and experience it. Simplicity can be a virtue, but with regard to the sheer complexity of our world it can... Read more
Are humans nothing but a conglomerate of physical particles behaving in accordance with physical laws? Can we show that the existence of a soul and an afterlife are scientifically impossible? Is agnosticism a viable alternative? My proposal to overcome a deadlocked metaphysical debate. ... Read more
