Monthly Archives: March 2014

1st workshop meeting in Düsseldorf, 12-13 June, 2014

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Ethical boundaries of life and morality politics

(A preliminary outlook on the program of the first workshop of the network; latest update: March 19, 2014, please note: the workshop meeting is only open to invited scholars)

 

Goals:

The first meeting serves the constitution of the network and the discussion of two substantial topics. The aim of the meeting is to reflect the (medical) ethical arguments, theories and debates as well as their relevance to the moral‐political discourse within the societies of Western‐ and Eastern Europe. In comparison to the socio‐historical heritage of Western‐ and post‐communist societies, the moral‐political and social relevance of boundary issues of life shall be discussed. Here the aim is to review concepts that are useful for a later implementation in standardized measurement instruments for the comparison across countries and cultures.

Thursday, June 12
Morning: Get together, general agenda and research plans, exchange of ideas and discussion
Afternoon: Ethical issues at the beginning and end of life (topic area and team A, cf. proposal)

Friday, June 13
Morning: Moral political issues in European public spheres (topic area and team D)
Afternoon: Linking ethics and moral politics, discussion and development tasks

About: Goal, summary and coordinators

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Goal:

Development of an international questionnaire module for moral political issues of boundaries of life (cf. DFG website)

 

Summary:

Questions on issues of life are an ethical issue that gains relevance in everyday life through in practice experiences and political discourse. Part of this is the question of self-determination in contradiction to the sanctity of human life. Additionally, a moral political debate arises in public, creating a pro choice vs. pro life-cleavage that poses sociologically important questions: What attitudes do citizens represent and how are these attitudes influenced by religious beliefs and value systems? How do these attitudes differ and how are these variations conditioned by individual and country-specific characteristics? What role does the post-communist heritage play for the lower acceptance in Eastern compared to Western Europe?

To answer these questions, new population representative survey data is needed. Objectives of the scientific network are therefore (1) the further development and implementation of new measurement
instruments concerning issues about boundaries of life, (2) a differentiated reflection of varying social forms of religion, (3) the systematic inclusion of value orientations as explanatory factors and (4) the explanation of attitudes towards boundaries of life embedded in the context of action in a comparative perspective. […]

 

Coordinators (and V.i.S.d.P.):

Dr. Tilo Beckers

Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Institut für Sozialwissenschaften
Universitätsstraße 1
40225 Düsseldorf
Phone: (+49) (0) 211 – 81 14273
Fax: (+49) (0)211 – 81 15648
E-Mail: tilo.beckers@uni-duesseldorf.de

 

Dr. Pascal Siegers

GESIS Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften
Datenarchiv für die Sozialwissenschaften
Unter Sachsenhausen 6-8
50667 Köln
Phone: (+49) (0)221 – 47694 419
Fax: (+49) (0)221 – 47694 8419
E-Mail: pascal.siegers@gesis.org