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April 07, 2025

Quod erat expectandum

If you are reading this post, then you are doing so with certain expectations. Perhaps you have already read other posts on this blog that you found interesting and now expect that reading this post will not be a waste of time either. You probably also have certain expectations of the content of the text given the title - for example, that it has something to do with ethics or morals. So, what do expectations have to do with ethics and morals?

Article

March 26, 2025

Freedom that is meant how exactly?

“Freedom” is often contrasted with ‘ethics’ in science as if there were a zero-sum game: More of one means less of the other. Such ideas can even be found in contexts that otherwise provide extremely important impulses for current debates on academic freedom. Instead of halving both a meaningful concept of freedom and ethics, the dialectical enabling function of ethics for freedom (in) science should be emphasized.

Article

January 29, 2025

Madness as a strategy. Ethics of conviction and responsibility in politics

Richard Nixon's “Madman Theory” was intended to deter opponents in the Vietnam War through unpredictable behavior. But how did he combine ethics of responsibility with ethics of conviction - and still fail? The article sheds light on how calculated madness was used as a political tool and what parallels can still be drawn today.

Article

Technology

16th July 2024

Human(s) in the loop(s): On the use of AI in German law enforcement

The criminal justice system is a core area of society undergoing intense digitalization and datafication processes accompanied and accelerated by rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. While the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) provides the legal framework for the adoption of AI-based systems for the police, our research provides the empirical data to analyze this undertaking. By outlining the requirements for human oversight of AI applications in the context of policing, we demonstrate the importance of ethical reflection where AI use can have serious consequences.

Article

Education / Science

March 26, 2025

Freedom that is meant how exactly?

“Freedom” is often contrasted with ‘ethics’ in science as if there were a zero-sum game: More of one means less of the other. Such ideas can even be found in contexts that otherwise provide extremely important impulses for current debates on academic freedom. Instead of halving both a meaningful concept of freedom and ethics, the dialectical enabling function of ethics for freedom (in) science should be emphasized.

Article

Sustainability

October 01, 2024

Agricultural turnaround and recognition

The agricultural turnaround is explosive. Farmers are vociferously opposing regulations and demanding more recognition for the fact that they provide us all with food. Politicians agree with this demand and are withdrawing new regulations. But does recognition necessarily mean maintaining the status quo? No, says environmental ethicist Uta Eser. Anyone who recognizes the importance of agriculture for the well-being of us all must push for changes to current practices.

Article

Security

30th April 2024

The Shroud of Security

It is a much-trumpeted truism: there is no such thing as absolute security. In any case, the provision of security is limited in view of the associated material resources and the always limited knowledge. Moreover, security, as one value among many, must also be limited, as security ethicist Regina Ammicht Quinn emphasised.

Article

Diversity

15th December 2023

Grotesque Women in the Media

The media exert a significant influence on body images. They confirm cultural ideals of beauty, disseminate idealised images and influence social norms and values. This article will focus on how the grotesque, repulsive, obscene body, of all things, can contribute to breaking down such powerful representational conventions and questioning normative ideas of femininity.

Article

Society

November 18, 2024

‘Your Body My Choice’

Far from constituting a coincidence or macabre joke, the slogan “Your Body My Choice” is a co-optation of feminist standpoints and might be integral to current fascist and right-wing populist narratives, as was also witnessed at anti-vaccination demonstrations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Article

Media

December 10, 2024

Narrative motifs and stereotypical attributions in the kaiju film genre

Genre classifications such as western, science fiction or kaiju structure our perception and evaluation of films. Despite their apparent unambiguousness, a closer look reveals their great complexity. What criteria play a role in categorization? Are stereotypical ideas served, especially in the case of non-Western works? Are ethical boundaries transgressed? Genre categories shape expectations and interpretations and reflect transcultural communication processes.

Article

Leadership

January 29, 2025

Madness as a strategy. Ethics of conviction and responsibility in politics

Richard Nixon's “Madman Theory” was intended to deter opponents in the Vietnam War through unpredictable behavior. But how did he combine ethics of responsibility with ethics of conviction - and still fail? The article sheds light on how calculated madness was used as a political tool and what parallels can still be drawn today.

Article

More topics

April 07, 2025

Quod erat expectandum

If you are reading this post, then you are doing so with certain expectations. Perhaps you have already read other posts on this blog that you found interesting and now expect that reading this post will not be a waste of time either. You probably also have certain expectations of the content of the text given the title - for example, that it has something to do with ethics or morals. So, what do expectations have to do with ethics and morals?

Article