LFU:online

Intimate knowledge of contemporary questions of practical philosophy with a special emphasis on philosophy of law and social philosophy; transdisciplinary competence; advanced philosophical reasoning.

Heterogeneous societies in terms of world view/culture/religions face a multitude of questions when it comes to determining what is expected from law and what is right. What are multicultural societies and how do they develop? What are the underlying normative premises of perspectives that view multiculturalism either as a value in itself, as valuable in terms of further goals, or even as an ill ("The Fall of the Occident")? Can there be a "neutral" law or does the "spirit of laws" always lead to ideological-cultural bias? If laws can be changed with a democratic majority, can obligations to common (basic) values protect legal systems from "unpleasant" transformations ("Leitkultur") or do such demands violate principles such as non-discrimination or autonomy? What are "harmful practices" and where should tolerance of cultural/religious values and their manifestations end ("cultural defense" in criminal law)? Why are women's rights the central pivot of current mistrust in multicultural utopias? How can human rights serve as a yardstick for "just law" if they themselves are part of the ideological conflict? Do absolute claims to truth or relativisms endanger the ability to coexist in multicultural societies? These and other questions will be dealt with systematically, as well as drawing on current debates and case studies on multicultural contexts worldwide. On this basis we dare to think through complex contemporary social challenges and to clarify our own points of view.

Presentations, discussions, reading

in combined form  

will be announced during lecture