Tübinger Forum for Science and Humanities (TFW) is an institutionally independent central facility of the University of Tübingen under the umbrella of the Forum Scientiarum. Its focus is on interdisciplinarity. The institution serves as an open forum for dialogue among the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The activities of the TFW are both geared towards students and PhD candidates but also address scientists at all career levels and the general public.
In relation to the conditions and context of contemporary science and its interaction with society, the TFW follows Sir C.P. Snow's fundamental analysis (The Two Cultures, 1959), which posits a gap between different scientific cultures whose bridging is necessary, both in an abstract intellectual and in a very practical sense. While Snow's distinction of only two cultures has since been widely criticized as too simplistic, the TFW sees its mission as a bridge-building function across disciplinary boundaries in teaching and research. Students and aspiring young scientists should be empowered to develop an awareness of differences in terminology, to learn about the possibilities and limits of concept, theory, and method transfers, and to develop an understanding of the legitimacy of different problem solving approaches. In this way, a fundamental and not to be underestimated competence is developed at this level, which is important for working in science as well as for tackling societal problems: the ability to engage in dialogue within a disciplinarily pluralistic discourse community.
The task and goal of the TFW are therefore to promote interdisciplinary thinking and foster openness to perspectives from other disciplines. This approach to interdisciplinary collaboration also addresses societal problems that cannot be solved by any single discipline or by several disciplines operating in isolation.
 

Inter- and Transdisciplinarity are implemented "practically", i.e., with regard to concrete issues and debates within science and their social context. To this end, the TFW collaborates with other university institutions. Overall, three interconnected focus areas are pursued and implemented in various formats:

1. Interdisciplinary Study Program
Despite new interdisciplinary study programs, the study programs at the University of Tübingen are predominantly disciplinarily structured. The dynamic of specialization, especially during Master's studies, leads to science being viewed as a static juxtaposition of various independent disciplines. At the latest in PhD progams and subsequent research, one's academic work takes place within a narrow disciplinary focus, preventing cross-fertilization between different areas of research. The TFW's interdisciplinary study program offers a complementary feature during academic training.

2. Reflection
Neither in the highly structured Bologna study programs nor in everyday research is there sufficient time to reflect on the relationship between different sciences and to engage in dialogue about the foundations and limits of "one's own" science. The reflection of one's own scientific practice also includes exploring the tension between a natural scientific claim to explanation and a humanities-based claim to understanding, the absence of which often leads to misunderstanding and a lack of communication. The TFW offers a space for thought and work for this reflection.

3. Value of Science & Understanding Science
In times of alternative facts and fake news, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between true and false statements. Against this background, it is becoming ever more important to emphasize the value of science. Trust in science presupposes an understanding of what constitutes good science. At the same time, there also needs to be an understanding of the constraints that science, as a social and collective enterprise, is subject to, in order to be able to exercise legitimate criticism of and within science. In this way, a nuanced picture of scientific practice and its communication emerges – and not least, a contemporary understanding of science as the epistemic authority in the public sphere and politics.