International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW)

Research at the IZEW

Scientific findings and technologies are fundamentally changing the way we live. These developments bring with them complex ethical issues that require an interdisciplinary and integrative approach: Only if researchers and ethics experts work together on current challenges can moral dimensions be clearly grasped and an appropriate ethical judgment be formed.
The IZEW has committed itself to this goal with its "Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities" programme: In numerous projects, scientists from a wide range of disciplines work together on pressing ethical issues. The focus is on three thematic areas.

 

Ethics and Education

The focus is on theories of ethical education and the question of the ethical relevance of structures in organisations. The transfer bet-ween the IZEW and the education sector, from school to university to adult education, is an important concern in this context.

Society, Culture and Technological Change

Research in this area concentrates on four main areas: Security Ethics, Media Ethics and Information Technology, Technology Ethics and Social Cohesion.
 

Nature and Sustainable Development

Questions of justice and responsibility between people today and tomorrow and their natural livelihoods form the central focus of this topic area.