EVENTS

STOQ 2009 – THE STOQ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
«BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION. Facts and Theories»

Abstracts of the Lectures:

Juergen Mittelstrass, University of Konstanz, Germany

Evolution and the Conditio Humana: A Philosophical Introduction

Today developments in biological and medical knowledge place Man in the unique position of being able to change not only nature in a general sense, but also his own nature, namely to intervene ever more powerfully not only in evolution in general but even in his own. And he is on the brink of changing the measures with which he previously described and regulated his situation, that is to say, the human condition. In fact, the conditio humana is changing: in the sense that now even Man's biological foundations are at his disposal. This creates a completely new and momentous situation in the domain of anthropology as well as in the domain of ethics.
While we must accustom ourselves to the fact that this disposal of Man over himself will increase, driven as it is by scientific and technical development, we must at the same time preserve, in opposition to this development, those indispensable things which are experienced in love and in happiness, in sickness and in death, and in which, despite the threat of the triumph of homo faber over homo sapiens, an essential part of our humanity is contained. This will be explained in some detail, using the distinction between natural artificiality and artificial naturalness in describing Man's nature or essence.