Dorothea Winter: ‘They face ethical dilemmas in their everyday lives, which are exacerbated by these crises.’
Ms Winter, the Humanist University and thus also the Applied Ethics degree programme were founded in 2022 – what has been the response like in the first four years? The response has been enormous – and this is strongly linked to the social situation.
We live in a time of multiple crises: climate change, digitalisation, geopolitical conflicts, growing social divisions, loss of trust in democratic institutions. People feel that purely technocratic responses are no longer sufficient. We are living in a time of multiple crises: climate change, digitalisation, geopolitical conflicts, growing social divisions, loss of trust in democratic institutions. People feel that purely technocratic responses are no longer sufficient. Our students are all working professionals and come from very different fields of practice – medicine, social work, education, business, administration, culture. And yet they are united by one experience: in their everyday lives, they face ethical dilemmas that are exacerbated by these crises. They bring different perspectives to the table, but they are motivated by the same fundamental questions: How can we take responsibility without overburdening ourselves? How can we ensure humanity in organisations and institutions? How can we shape technology, politics and economics in such a way that they work for human life rather than against it? It is precisely this shared need that makes the resonance so strong.
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20. Oktober 2025
RECENT
Marilyn J. Roossinck: Viruses help us understand evolution because they evolve differently.
The Alethea Talks interview with Dr. Marilyn J. Roossinck, a renowned U.S. virologist with over 30 years of research experience, examines the complex role of viruses in evolution and the challenges of modern virology. Roossinck was a researcher at Cornell University and later taught in Oklahoma and at Penn State University. Known for her studies on virus ecology, such as the fungal virus from Yellowstone National Park that grants plants heat resistance, she has shaped public debate in the U.S. about viruses through articles in The Conversation and her book Virus: An Illustrated Guide to 101 Incredible Microbes (2016), particularly during the Corona period.
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16. June 2025
Dr. Katrin Schuhen: „Sauberes Wasser
ist ein Menschenrecht und kein Wirtschaftsgut.“
Manche Erfindungen sind so bahnbrechend, aber wie können möglichst viele Menschen von ihnen profitieren? Darüber hat sich die Chemikerin Dr. Katrin Schuhen Gedanken gemacht, als sie bei ihrer Forschung eine Methode zum Nachweis von Mikroplastik im Wasser entdeckte. Das Verfahren, auf dem Wasser 3.0, wie sie ihre Erfindung nennt, basiert, hat sie als Open-Source-Patent der Allgemeinheit zur Verfügung gestellt.
Die Erfindung der „Rebellin des Wassers“, wie sie in der Branche genannt wird, ist eine mehrdimensionale Lösung für Wasser ohne Mikroplastik und ist, wie die Wissenschaftlerin erklärt, schneller als bisherige Methoden. Grob gesagt, wird das Plastik im Wasser verklumpt und die Klumpen können dann abgeschöpft werden.
27 November 2024
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