"Without science, what would be missing in our society?”
A better future
Without science, there would be little hope of a better future for mankind
Approach to decoding
Literature and film are areas in which we can experiment with how we interact with one another, in which we can work out what is desirable and what is not. In literature and film, we come to terms with the things that are important to us – as human beings and as culture: for our lives, for our world, for the future. But: aesthetic communication is complex. Science creates an approach to decoding aesthetic products and their meanings and, in doing so, contributes to mediating between art and society.
Without science, there is stagnation
Science gives rise to movement – without it, there is stagnation. New findings which science produces play a decisive role in enabling us to find answers and solutions to challenges resulting from the changes to our world
Basis for human freedom
Science generates knowledge. Knowledge delivers understanding. Understanding means enlightenment. Enlightenment for its part means freedom: freedom in a political sense, in an intellectual sense, in a biological sense. Science is not only the motor for progress – it is the basis for human freedom!
For civilization
Without science there is no civilization.
Most productive form of doubt
Without the sciences we would be lacking the most productive form of doubt with respect to all purported certainties.
Emptyness without science
Without ‘science’, our universities would be empty – devoid of content if objects of research were not being addressed, and devoid of people if nobody were working on arriving at scientific results, understanding them, teaching them, discussing them and reflecting on them.
Science protects our society from the ideological forms of religions
I grew up in an Arabic country in which there was a refusal to deal with Islam as a science. As a result, it became an ideology that was susceptible to easy political manipulation. Seeing theology as a science, however, makes it possible to reflect on religions in a rational way. This is the only way to protect our society from the ideological forms of religions.
To understand life
Only knowledge creates the opportunity to understand life. This is vital, in the truest sense of the word, because it explains not only the beauty of living nature but also presents the key to modern medicine.
Basis of our democracy
Science organizes our complex world. It explains it in a universally comprehensible way and therefore offers us reliable orientation. In this way it forms an important basis of our democracy.
Era of Enlightenment
In media linguistics we subject ‘fake news’ or tendentious public discourses to a critical examination, in accordance with strict objective parameters, as regards their logical coherence and their correspondence to empirically verifiable facts. In the wake of the digital revolution, everyone should take this scientific approach every day in order not to lose track of our highly complex media landscape. We need a new era of Enlightenment in the sense of a digital ‘sapere aude!’ (‘dare to know!’). This is conditional upon science today being financially independent, so as not to become the mouthpiece of agitators in public discourses of power.
For the future
A society without science loses its future.
Science promotes a cosmopolitan world view
Science is the authority which seeks after truth. In our society, based on the division of labour, it is responsible for delivering the best knowledge available at any one time. Its findings require, and promote, diversity and openness. Because science is international, it also promotes a cosmopolitan world view and cultural diversity. This is what makes science so important for society and democracy.
Everything that constitutes a humane society
Everything – at any rate, everything that constitutes humanity and a humane society!
Complex thought
It’s not enough to want what is good. We also have to be able to analyse the probability with which it can be achieved. Complex thought, a sober approach, a sense of what is possible – these things are what science can teach.
About democracy and science
Science suffers without democracy! But so does democracy without science!
Critical look at ourselves
Without science our society would lack a critical look at itself. No matter if it’s theoretical models, empirical data or nationwide or international research activities – science forces us to question our actions. It provides us with an inconvenient, sometimes disturbing, but always illuminating view of our life.
Practical developments
First of all, I think of practical developments which make life easier for humans and all sections of society. This is made especially clear by medical progress. Science is a special part of human culture which has its own inherent value. A curiosity to experience new things and to get to know things which are hidden – this motivates humanity, keeps us alive. Last but not least, science gives us objective methods and knowledge which are passed on from person to person, and passed on by society to the next generations.
What's without?
Without science there is no clarity on the causes of diseases. Without science, no new effective treatments. Without science, no cures.
Hardly imaginable
Just imagine what our world would look like without the scientific knowledge we have so far, and how we would live and think.
Shaky ground
Without knowledge and science, opinions are on shaky ground
To question my thinking habits
For me, scientific data, reports and information represent a necessary challenge – and precisely when they come from a different discipline from my own and I can’t immediately understand and categorize them. They force me to question my thinking habits, and it is ultimately my own research which also benefits from this!
A great responsibility
Science is the foundation for evidence-based findings and, therefore, also the foundation for decisions of relevance to society. Without science, or if it is misused, or if people have no trust in it, opinions or thought-up findings take over this function – with serious consequences. Especially with regard to social trust and acceptance, universities have a great responsibility as places where scientists and researchers are trained and carry out their work.
Indispensable corrective for society
Regardless of whether this increase really does exist, or it just feels that way – in times of populism and ‘fake news’, scientific research represents an indispensable corrective for society. Through objective research, statements that have been made can be proven to be false, or can be put on a sound basis. Phrases are either debunked or they become facts.