11. - 16. Oktober 2010, Lübeck
Good life better – anthropological, sociological and philosophical dimensions of enhancement - An interdisciplinary workshop for young scholars
The workshop is part of a series of interdisciplinary study weeks on ethical, social and legal aspects of the modern life-sciences, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The event will be organized by the Institute for the History of Medicine and Science Studies (IMGWF) at the University of Lübeck, in cooperation with the Institut für Mensch, Ethik und Wissenschaft (IMEW) in Berlin.
Target Group:
PhD candidates, post-docs and young scholars in the fields of ethics, philosophy, theology, social and political sciences, cultural studies, disability studies, medicine and the life sciences.
Topic:
This workshop aims to intensify an interdisciplinary bioethical discussion on “human enhancement” by explicitly connecting it to disability studies research, and by integrating philosophical, ethical, anthropological, sociological, cultural and feminist points of view. How do people with and without disabilities see “enhancing medicine” and the enhancement discourse? Looking through the lenses of disability and gender, how can we distinguish between wishes and desires that are improvements and those that are not? Which experiences of medicine and technology are key for understanding possibilities and limits of enhancement in medicine? If an inclusive societal reflection is important, are there new discrimination risks and emancipation opportunities?
Questions that will be discussed are: What relates “norms” and “normality” to “normative“ considerations? How will these terms be defined in political and social arenas as well as in cultural contexts? Which visions of and options for technical enhancement of human bodies are desirable and reasonable – and why? How might a pluralist approach look, which is inspired by “thinking through the variant body”?
Through interdisciplinary discussions, methods can be found that allow us to study the values and the underlying key differentiations in ideas of human identity. If somebody believes that a particular enhancing intervention is actually “improving”, he or she makes use of such values and differences. How we think about “enhancement” (what contributes to enhancement?) says a lot about what we emphasize in human life. Which frames of perception are debated in discourses, how can they be made explicit and fruitful for further discussion?
Invited Speakers:
Prof. Dr. phil. Stuart Blume (University of Amsterdam)
Prof. Dr. med. Cornelius Borck (University of Lübeck)
Dr. rer.nat. Katrin Grüber (IMEW Berlin)
Dr. phil. Ursula Naue (University of Vienna)
Prof. Dr. phil. Alfred Nordmann (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
Prof. Dr. phil., dipl. biol. Christoph Rehmann-Sutter (University of Lübeck)
Prof. Dr. phil. Christina Schües (Hochschule Vechta)
Dr. phil. Jackie Leach Scully (Newcastle University)
Contributions in the following areas in particular are welcome:
(1) Experience and evaluations of enhancement,
(2) Converging Biotechnologies and Phenomenology,
(3) Norms and Needs,
(4) Fulfilment of desires in technology and medicine,
(5) Governance and Biopolitics.
Contributions are also welcome that contrast body experiences with more speculative visions like “posthumanism” and “transhumanism”.
Applications:
Applications in German or English can be made via email to: klausurwoche@imgwf.uni-luebeck.de until 1 July 2010 and should include an abstract (500 words), Curriculum Vitae, and a list of publications, if existing. All applicants will be informed whether or not their abstract has been accepted by 31 July 2010. The number of participants is limited to 15. Conference languages will be German and English.
If an abstract is accepted, all travel and accommodation costs will be met. Accepted participants will receive an honorarium of 300 €. Deadline for final discussion drafts (if possible in English): 1 October 2010.
Significant outcomes will be published as an English book.
Chair:
Christoph Rehmann-Sutter Professor für Theorie und Ethik der Biowissenschaften, Institut für Medizingeschichte und Wissenschaftsforschung der Universität zu Lübeck Königsstraße 42, D-23552 Lübeck, Tel.: 0451. 70 79 98 15 e-mail: rehmann@imgwf.uni-luebeck.de
Co-Chair IMEW:
Dr. Katrin Grüber Leiterin des Institut Mensch, Ethik und Wissenschaft Warschauer Str. 58A, D-10243 Berlin. Tel.: 030. 29 38 17 70 e-mail: grueber@imew.de
The venue is accessible for wheel-chairs.