Heidelberg University opens Camilla and Georg Jellinek Center for Ethics
© Heidelberg University
In order to advance cross-disciplinary and societal dialogue on ethical issues, Heidelberg University has founded the new Camilla and Georg Jellinek Center for Ethics. It aims to strengthen ethical reflection in research and teaching across all disciplines and to constructively accompany social debates through dialogue with the public.
Key Areas
Establishing the Camilla and Georg Jellinek Center for Ethics underscores Heidelberg University’s commitment to addressing the critical role of ethical reflection and normative practice in academia and society.
The center constitutes an thematically open platform for interdisciplinary collaboration on ethical challenges for researchers from different fields to cooperate on ethical challenges and on ways to strengthen ethical thinking in their areas. The Jellinek Center tackles the respective issues in three dimensions:
- Analysing ethical challenges and normative conflicts: Current societal transformation is accompanied by intensifying normative conflicts, permeating virtually every aspect of societal life: politics, economy, jurisprudence, technology, systems of care and cure, education and academia, but also arts, family life and the relations between the human and the non-human. The JCfE incubates interdisciplinary research projects on contemporary normative conflicts and ethical challenges, both on foundational and on applied levels.
- Professionalising ethics: Academic disciplines and professions are in themselves shaped by norms and values. The very function of research depends on those orientations, as well as public trust in science does. Thus, there is a need for developing and cultivating responsible practices and ethical self-reflection in academic professionalism. The JCfE analyses how professional standards and ethical awareness develop within scientific and other professional communities. It also contributes to the design of ethics-oriented study programs and formats of ethical reasoning across faculties at Heidelberg University.
- Designing ethical frameworks for institutions: Academic institutions are increasingly expected to show themselves responsible towards society. This needs forms and institutions in academia as well as in society that are capable of fostering participation, ethics guidance and academic freedom. The JCfE investigates and supports institutional formats that promote ethical deliberation and responsible practice – both within and beyond the university.
Membership
Membership in the Camilla and Georg Jellinek Center for Ethics is open to members of Heidelberg University who are engaged in academic work in an ethics-related field and are willing to actively participate in the work of the Ethics Center. Relevant research projects or publications in ethics-related fields are desirable but not required. Applications for membership can be submitted informally. They should be addressed to the founding directors via the Ethics Center office.