• Katharina Mader, M.A.

9–10.9.2002

From 9th to 10th September 2002 the Philosophical Institute Marburg and the Europäische Akademie organised a symposium on biodiversity with the aim to present some results of the former project group of the academy: “Biodiversity – Scientific Basis and Social Relevance”.

It also created a forum for discussion among interested scientists from the sciences and the humanities. The symposium focussed on two of the main aspects presented: first, the significance of modern molecular biology for biodiversity research and its relationship to other more “classical” relevant sciences and, secondly, on the differences between species concepts used in different scientific fields and their dependence on special contexts and purposes. It became clear that molecular biology can support biodiversity research in an important way, even in fields where the species concept is very limited (i.e., microbiology). Even if reductionistic approaches became evident in a more or less explicit way, the interdisciplinary circle was well able to conduct a fruitful discussion. Furthermore, the question was raised as to the relevance and aims of biodiversity for society, which, according to some participants, cannot be answered or satisfied by scientific disciplines but needs a societal discourse. The sections were: I. Setting the Stage, II. Molecular-Biological Aspects, III. Biodiversity in the Current Discourse. 

Invited speakers: Professor Dr. Rudolf Amann (Bremen), Professor Dr. Jürgen Bereiter-Hahn (Frankfurt/M.), Professor Dr. Michael Bölker (Marburg), Priv.-Doz. Dr. Broder Breckling (Bremen), Dr. Michael Gudo (Frankfurt/M.), Dr. Dr. Mathias Gutmann (Marburg), Professor Dr. Peter Janich (Marburg), Professor Dr. Dr. Peter Kämpfer (Giessen) and Professor Dr. Ramón Rosselló-Mora (Mallorca), Professor Dr. Rainer Marggraf (Göttingen), Professor Dr. Heinz Saedler (Köln), Dr. Michael Weingarten (Jena).