Görres Society Gathers at the University of Tübingen to Discuss ‘Freedom’
The 125th annual meeting of the Görres Society will take place this year in Tübingen at the invitation of the University of Tübingen under the theme “Freedom”. From September 22nd to September 24th, 2023, around 250 scientists from 20 different disciplines will meet in 15 department meetings and invite the university and city public to attend their events.
The detailed program can be found on the Görres Society website . Guests are very welcome at the annual conference; admission is free, but advance registration is encouraged.
With around 2,900 members, the Görres Society for the Care of Science is one of the largest and one of the oldest German scientific societies. Against the background of a Christian view of humanity, scientists discuss the results of current research at the interface of science, society, politics and religion.
“The university is pleased to host this multidisciplinary event again in Tübingen, especially on such an important and timely topic,” said Professor Dr. Karla Pollmann, Rector of the University of Tübingen.
The lecture by the Tübingen historian Professor Dr. Sigrid Hirbodian: “Thinking about Eberhard. The discussion about the name of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen”.
On Saturday there will be 15 parallel meetings of the society’s scientific departments, which will essentially deal with the central theme of the conference, “Freedom”.
The conference will conclude on Sunday, September 24th, from 10:30 a.m. with a ceremony in the ballroom of the university’s New Aula, at which, among others, the former Federal Constitutional Judge Professor Dr. Dr. hc Paul Kirchhof, Heidelberg, will speak on the topic “The idea of freedom as a social mandate, as an individual risk and as a legal guarantee”.
In addition to the ceremony and central lectures, the focus of the annual conference is on the meetings of the individual scientific sections of the Görres Society with over 80 lectures. The lectures cover the entire range of scientific diversity of the Görres Society and individual events are primarily dedicated to the topic of “freedom”. The President of the Görres Society, Professor Dr. Bernd Engler said in the run-up to the conference: “We can currently observe in various regions of the world how people are fighting for their freedom and that of their state, often at the risk of their lives. The understanding of “freedom” is central to our democratic society. This is accompanied by profound questions that we want to discuss at our conference: How do freedom and responsibility relate to each other? Where does freedom begin and where does it end – for example in science? What ethical guidelines should be observed, for example in questions of medicine and bioethics?”
Here are a few examples: The section event for economics and social science, which meets in collaboration with the Aktionsgemeinschaft Soziale Marktwirtschaft eV, is dedicated to the topic “Responsible Freedom – 75 Years of the Social Market Economy”. The philosophy discusses “paradoxes of freedom” and asks, among other things, “freedom in times of climate change”. The history section will focus on “history and threats to academic freedom”. The Section for Religious Studies will, among other things, compare the concept of freedom in various world religions and the European Ethnology will debate the topic “External determination and self-determination: The design of lifestyles and ways of living”. The meeting of legal and political sciences should be no less interesting,
Particular attention is paid to the numerous young scientists who are expected to attend the conference. The “Young Forum of the Görres Society”, which was created specifically for this group, offers the opportunity to network and set your own tone.
The following representatives of the Görres Society will be happy to answer media inquiries:
Prof. Dr. Bernd Engler, literary scholar, former rector of the University of Tübingen, president of the Görres Society
Prof. Dr. Sabine Seichter, University Professor of General Education, University of Salzburg, Vice President of the Görres Society
Prof. Dr. Georg Braungart, Chair of Modern German Literature, University of Tübingen, Vice President of the Görres Society, Head of the Cusanuswerk
Dr. Martin Barth, Secretary General of the Görres Society