Center for Life Ethics
Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 7
D-53113 Bonn
Center for Life Ethics
Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 7
D-53113 Bonn
Economic wealth can be composed of different components: Income, inheritance claims, art and luxurious cars, real estate, yachts, exclusive holidays, and much more. It is unclear which aspects of wealth increase happiness and whether people without similar access to resources can achieve a qualitatively comparable level. The effects that individual wealth can have on democratic structures, basic ideals of justice, and ecological sustainability goals are also the subject of controversial debate. Scholars such as Christian Neuhäuser, Thomas Picketty, and Michael Sandel criticise various aspects and effects of wealth as anti-social, harmful or simply undemocratic. To solve the problems identified, they propose various political instruments that could be used to restrict wealthy people's access to resources: a more progressive income tax, inheritance taxes, seizures. Others evoke the potential or historical advantages that societies with super wealthy citizens enjoy: Higher productivity, revitalising consumerism, higher tax revenues, and altruistically motivated welfare gains. These voices are accompanied by a liberal tradition that emphasises the importance of protected exclusive rights on private goods as an important cornerstone of modern democracies. From this perspective, many political instruments for redistribution appear to be immoral encroachments on legitimate civil liberties. The seminar deals with different forms of wealth and identifies the (framework) conditions under which wealth can become a moral problem in view of the economic, ecological and social crises of our time.
Lecturer: Dr. Sebastian Müller
Time: Wednesdays, 12:15–13:45, 09.04.2025–16.07.2025
Location: Center for Life Ethics, Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7, 53113 Bonn (acess not barrier-free!)
The welfare state as it exists today in Germany, for example, has always been a subject of debate and remains contested. Emerging from social movements and political struggles, it frequently appears on the socio-political agenda, particularly in discussions about pension security, the pressures on the care sector, and the affordability of healthcare. The ongoing debate between those who use terms like ‘cost explosion’ to argue that social benefits are unaffordable and those who view such claims as driven by demorgaphis factors reflects a deeper conflict. This issue cannot be resolved solely through economic reasoning. A its core, it is about the self-image of modern, pluralistic and democratically constituted societies, which must ask: What do we want to owe one another? This question calls for a clear understanding of the role and scope of the welfare state. Philosophy, and ethics in particular, can contribute by identifying key concepts and analyzing the conditions under which collective responsibility for social welfare can be justifiably and persuasively defended. This also involves critically examining the structural problems of the welfare state in order to develop an institutional self-criticism that strengthens its resilience in times of legitimacy crises.
Lecturer: Peter Bröckerhoff, M. A.
Time: Wednesdays, 10:15–11:45, 09.04.2025-18.07.2025
Location: Center for Life Ethics, Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7, 53113 Bonn (acess not barrier-free!)
Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgement has repeatedly been used as a point of reference for political philosophers. In this sense, Arendt's introductory sentence in her Lectures on Kant's Political Philosophy must be read as a provocation to view the power of judgement as a central element in the foundation of Kantian political thought. Historical and current interpretations confirm this suspicion time and again.
Against this background, we will deal with the Critique of Aesthetic Judgement, i.e. the first part of the book. The focus here will be on understanding Kant's ideas in dialogue with the primary text. We will familiarise ourselves with the Kantian concepts, modes of proof and the classical subdivisions of critical philosophy, also with reference to the Critique of Pure Reason, and thus develop a systematic understanding of Kant's thinking.
Lecturer: Nicolas Knecht, M. A.
Time: Fridays, 10:15–11:45, 11.04.2025–18.07.2025
Location: Center for Life Ethics, Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7, 53113 Bonn (acess not barrier-free!)
We often use terms such as “Europe”, “the West”, or “modernity” to differentiate ourselves from the “non-European”, “non-Western”, “pre-modern” “others”. It is usually assumed that Europe has undergone an independent development towards a modern society, which first spread to the “West” and then to the rest of the world and is radically different from all other and previous forms of society. This implicitly assumes not only that “Europe”, the “West” or “modernity” exist as independent phenomena, but also that “we” (the “Western”, “modern” society) are “more developed” and “more progressive” than all “others”. Europe, the West and modernity are thus part of a rhetoric of “development” and “progress” that justifies both European colonialism and the inequalities of today's neo-liberal world system.
In our seminar, we ask ourselves to what extent “Europe”, the “West” or “modernity” can even exist as meaningful categories if they no longer serve to justify colonial claims to power.
Lecturer: Dr. Jan Linhart
Time: Mondays, 10:00–14:00, 14.04.2025–14.07.2025 (every two weeks)
Location: Institute for Archaeology and Cultural Anthropology, Am Hofgarten 22, 53113 Bonn
Governance is a set of social processes and structures guiding individual, group and organizational behavior. The course provides a detailed overview of different governance theories and approaches to address environmental and sustainability challenges. The course examines why collective action problems arise between individual and group interests, and how different governance theories help explain different ways of organizing society and social institutions to shape our behavior, incentives and outcomes. A variety of different governance theories will be reviewed to compare their analytical potential and challenges, and furthermore examine how different governance theories from different disciplinary perspectives are useful for understanding the current complexity of environmental and sustainability problems. The role of interdisciplinary science will be explored in order to advance the understanding of complex human-environmental systems and their governance.
Lecturer: Dr. Stefan Partelow
Time and Location: Wednesday, 12:00-14:00 (INRES / Hörsaal V) und Thursday, 12:00-14:00 (ILT / Carl-Heinrich-Dencker-Hörsaal)
Right and freedoms allow us to live our lives according to our aspirations and beliefs, and to develop in a wide variety of ways. They also enable important social processes and functions.
On the other hand, freedoms are not infinite, but find their limits in the rights of others who are affected. Moreover, their guarantee is not always permanent: their scope and form can be subject to change, and they are often also subject to targeted political repression or various other threats.
But what do the many types of freedom actually mean, where do they come from and what purpose do they serve? How far do they extend and how are they to be weighed against each other? How can they be protected against various changes and in the face of threats?
In this seminar, we first examine the ethical and legal foundations of various freedoms and highlight their significance, origins, current guarantees and possible challenges. Together with experts from the field and in an excursion, we then explore the significance of freedoms for our daily lives, and discuss what freedoms mean for us in practice, how we live them and want to live them in the future, and how we can ensure their lasting preservation.
Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Christiane Woopen/Dr. Björn Schmitz-Luhn
Time: Tuesdays, 14:15 p.m.–15:45 p.m., 08.04.2024–15.07.2025
Location: Center for Life Ethics, Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 7, 53113 Bonn (acess not barrier-free!)
Registration: please click here
Together with recognized experts from science and society, we go on a weekly ThinkJourney to explore desirable futures in different areas of life, spanning the semester. Our guests present their research and discuss with students, young researchers and interested members of the public. At the end of the semester, the journeys of thought are followed by a joint journey in real life to a thematically relevant place or institution.
Lecturers: Prof. Dr. Christiane Woopen/Dr. Björn Schmitz-Luhn
Time: Wednesdays, 14:15 p.m.–15:45 p.m., 09.04.2025–09.07.2025
Location: Center for Life Ethics, Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 7, 53113 Bonn (acess not barrier-free!)
Registration: please click here
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