Search

In Germany, the legal aspects of large scale killing of male chicken after hatching have been addressed in Criminal Law as well as Administrative Law. According to the German Animal-Protection-Statute the killing is permitted, if it is based on a reasonable reason. The “Oberverwaltungsgericht NRW” has now ruled that economic considerations can be a reasonable reason. This article takes a closer look at the decision and “the reasonable reason” concept in this context leading to the result that economic considerations cannot be accepted as reasonable reasons and that therefore the killing of the chicken is unlawful. INSTITUTION: Faculty of Law, University Freiburg, Germany. [Article in German]

We congratulate Kim-Lillian Strebel who is part of the opera ensemble at the Freiburg Theater on her brilliant performance as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s opera 'Così fan tutte'. This young artist has been awarded a one-year scholarship by the International Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Arts (IASHA). We are happy to present a portrait of an interesting and passionate young lady succeeding in the opera world. Read more about the Interview with Kim-Lillian! [Article in German] For a VIDEO of Kim, download the pdf and hit the "WATCH VIDEO" button. YOU will enjoy it!

Renewing Europe – an interview with Dr. Markus Kerber who has been the executive director of the Federal Association of German Industry (BDI) since 2011. The following interview between the Thales Academy for Economy and Philosophy Freiburg, Germany, and Dr. Kerber has previously been published in the journal agora42, issue 03/2016. agora42 is a philosophical business journal. The fact that there is need of a journal that brings together economic and philosophical considerations tells us a lot about our current time – a time in which it is a difficult task to stay on top of economic and social issues. Thus, agora42 aims at keeping oversight and exposing complex economic and social processes in order to give a most comprehensive orientation to the readers. Each issue of agora42 addresses a specific topic and sheds light on it from various perspectives. 10.000 exemplars are currently circulated and published every three month in German-speaking countries. www.agora42.

Lamarck attributed the transformation of species to the inheritance of acquired features. Although not completely convincing in his time, even Darwin accepted this concept in his “Pangenesis” Hypothesis. Later experiments to confirm Lamarck`s concept failed. Nevertheless, Lamarck had a pronounced effect on communistic science, research projects and political strategies, closely associated with Trofin D. Lyssenko (1898-1976). Lamarck`s model cannot explain the evolution of species as we understand it today, since his concept stipulated the transformation of arts, not a common ancestral tree for all species. INSTITUTION: Institute of Biology, Free University Berlin, Berlin, Germany. [Article in German]

The first simulation experiments were performed early in the 20th century. But it was with the development of high performance computing that simulations became a powerful tool in science and engineering. Simulation experiments have some obvious advantages: they are cheaper and easier to achieve than real world experiments, and they allow testing for dangerous outcomes. Their main application consists in simulating complex processes that cannot be calculated right away. To be simulated, a problem has to be given an appropriate mathematical form; the simulation will then be able to approximate possible behaviours of the simulated system. For the philosophy of science, simulation experiments bear questions like: Do simulations really help to understand the ongoing processes? How can one know that the simulated process equals the real process in relevant ways? INSTITUTION: Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung der Universität Bielefeld, 33615 Bielefeld, GERMANY

Michael Röckner is Professor of Mathematics and Vice-President of the German Mathematicians Association. His research is focused on probability theory, mathematical physics and stochastic analysis, especially modeling, and analysis of stochastic dynamics in Physics, Biology, and Economics. Since October 2015, he is the managing director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research at the University Bielefeld, Germany. He was interviewed by Manuela Lenzen, Ph.D., one of the leading science writers in Germany.

“In my work, I focus on egg tempera on canvas and paper, but also occupy myself with multicolor wood engraving and linocut. My current paintings are compositions of colored surfaces and in part overlapping paint brush work. An additional element in the creating process is to include the empty space (white canvas). I do not intend to create the perspective of realistic representations, on the contrary, the idea is to outline particular motifs with a few strokes and form a contrast to color surfaces. My compositions refer to common, ordinary subjects, with the motifs originating in a different context. For me, the unusual combination of motifs offers new visual angles, new associations. Thus, the creating course continuously changes - thereby time and again surprising myself.”

Die Enzyklika „LAUDATO SI“ von Papst Franziskus befasst sich mit grundlegenden umweltpolitischen und gesellschaftlichen Fragen, mit denen sich die Menschheit im 21. Jahrhundert konfrontiert sieht. Die Enzyklika richtet sich nicht nur wie sonstige Lehrschreiben an die Katholiken, sondern an die ganze Menschheit (3, 13). Der folgende Beitrag thematisiert die rechtlichen Aspekte der Enzyklika. Ausgangspunkt ist die ökologisch-soziale Krise, die Franziskus nachdrücklich beschreibt. Sodann greifen wir das Prinzip der Nachhaltigkeit auf. Im Mittelpunkt unserer Überlegungen steht die Frage, welche Aufgabe dem Recht zufällt. Vorgestellt werden die herkömmlichen Instrumente des deutschen und des US-amerikanischen Umweltrechts sowie die Konzeptionen internationaler Abkommen. Abschließend werden einige Ansätze zu einer ökologischen Neuorientierung des Rechts erarbeitet.

Anja Vollmer paints transparent, multi-perspective spaces. They appear separated by an invisible membrane into an external and internal layer. However, transparency remains an illusion. Anja Vollmer malt übereinander gelagerte, transparente, multiperspectivische Räume wie durch eine unsichtbare Mambran in Innen und Aussen geteilt und doch lassen ihre Arbeiten keinen Zweifel daran, dass ihre Transparenz nichts anderes ist als eine Illusion.

Konzertkritik zu frauenkomponiert am 8. März 2016 in der Martinskirche Basel.