Novum organum scientiarum

The readiness to discard supposed certainties is an integral part of making progress in scientific knowledge, but this is nevertheless an extremely difficult thing to do. Over time, theories can imperceptibly take on the character of irrefutable truths, or it can start to seem as though certain methods are without alternative. This incremental process can be particularly well countered by interdisciplinary discourse, which, in this semester, will be employed to reconsider theories on evolution, cosmology, planetary health and diversity.

Talking about Dis/Similarities

What role does the composition of groups play in the various academic disciplines? Is this taken into account in empirical samples? Are research groups really more productive the more diverse they are? Like the CAS Research Focus Dis/Similarities, the lecture series addresses these academically and socially relevant questions. The series will begin on 22 April with the sociologist Stefan Böschen (Aachen) and the philosopher Christine Bratu (Göttingen), who will discuss diversity in the process of knowledge production with Monika Betzler (LMU).

22 April 2024, 7 p.m.
First event of the series with Prof. Dr. Stefan Böschen (Aachen) and Prof. Dr. Christine Bratu (Göttingen): Zählt es wirklich? Diversität im Prozess der Wissensproduktion

All lectures of the series

Key Questions

Anne-Laure Boulesteix, Tobias Dreischulte, and their group will be working on the topic of Medical Data Processing together with several international fellows.

The Research Focus New Cosmology led by Andreas Burkert (Physics), Sebastian Gäb (Philosophy) and Holger Gzella (Theology) compares more recent discoveries of the "Fine-Tuned Universe" with older ideas of a "well-shaped" order of the cosmos.

Planetary Health is one of the defining issues of our time, and one that demands the highest possible degree of interdisciplinarity. The range of disciplines involved in the new Research Focus is accordingly wide, led by the quartet of Michaela Coenen (Public Health), Ralf Ludwig (Complex Environmental Systems), Katja Radon (Work and Environmental Epidemiology) and Eva Rehfuess (Public Health).

Why does one species develop into two further species, the hybrids of which are sterile or infertile? This "mystery of mysteries" in evolutionary theory will be investigated by the Research Focus "Speciation", led by Axel Imhof (Molecular Biology).

7 June 2024, 2 p.m.
Lecture of Prof. Nitin Phadnis, Ph.D. (Utah/CAS Fellow): Genomic Conflicts and the Origins of Species

Photosynthesis: Know, Grow and Glow

In his research, Dario Leister is concentrating on photosynthesis and its interaction and integration with other cell processes in chloroplasts and beyond.

8 July 2024, 7 p.m.
CAS Showcase by Prof. Dr. Dario Leister (LMU): Photosynthesis: Know, Grow and Glow

Critical Phase

In the summer semester, the work of both CAS Research Groups is entering its critical phase, in which they will hold their concluding conferences and present their results.

25 June 2024
Workshop Tools for Transnational Neuropsychiatric Research

11 and 12 July 2024
Workshop Is the Legal Architecture of Europe’s Institutions Apt for the Climate Change Mitigation Task?

Developing Networks

More than 40 fellows will be at CAS this summer: The political scientist Sanne Cornelia Verschuren (Boston) will be a guest of the Research Focus Order Contestation, while the epidemiologist Sebastian Schneeweiss (Harvard) and the chemist Peter Vivian Coveney (Amsterdam/London) will work as part of the Research Focus Medical Data Processing. In the Short-Term Fellowship Program, Abbas Al-Hussainy will come to Munich from Iraq and Patricia Shehan Campbell from Seattle in order to work with their academic hosts (Adelheid Otto and Alexandra Kertz-Welzel).

The Second Book

Four postdocs will be working at CAS in the summer semester: Vanessa Carr from the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy is concerned with the concept of practical representation. Cord Christian Casper (English Philology) is conducting research on "Temporal Commons in Nature Writing". Mary Frazer (Ancient History) is investigating the intellectual culture of the royal court in Babylon during the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The research of Johannes Kopf-Beck (Psychology) focuses on the identification of predictors for the treatment success of psychotherapy.

Marking Out Fields of Research

Some processes and limitations involved in the learning of linguistic structures apply to both humans and machines. The computer linguist Sharon Goldwater (Edinburgh/CAS Fellow) will be working on this subject in cooperation with the Young Center member James Kirby.

Historian and Young Center Member Hannes Ziegler will hold a conference on "Conspiracy Theories between Reformation and Religious War".

Dieter Grimm on the EU

In Dieter Grimm, CAS was able to obtain for its Blog one of the most thoughtful and considered voices on the role of the constitution in the European Union. He spoke during the winter semester in the lecture series "Ach Europa! The Fortunes of a Long-Lasting Concept" on the question of constitutional identity. His contribution can now be found in the CAS Blog under the title "Three Meanings of Constitutional Identity and Their Prospects in the European Union".

Karol Bethke and the Fine Line

The painter, illustrator and sculptor Karol Bethke (1940–2017) is considered part of the concrete art movement, which began its programmatic development one hundred years ago. With this exhibition, CAS aims to commemorate and honor Karol Bethke as an important representative of this school of art. The works on display are predominantly paper-based, in which he explores the relationship between painting and drawing through his use of fine lines and strikingly colored gloss paint.

The exhibition was conceived in cooperation with the Stiftung für Konkrete Kunst und Design in Ingolstadt and Bernheimer Contemporary.

17 April 2024
Art at CAS: Vernissage: Karol Bethke and the Fine Line
Introduction: Marie-Luise Heske (Stiftung für Konkrete Kunst und Design Ingolstadt) and Dr. Mario Günther (LMU)