Ethics & Physics

Decorative illustration for the “Ethics and Physics” event series.

Dates & Topics

Summer semester 2026

In summer 2026, the seminar series takes place on Mondays at 4 p.m. in turns in the foyer of the Physics Department (Zülpicher Straße 77) and in seminar room 0.03 in the extension building (Zülpicher Straße 77a). The focus is on critically examining the application of scientific findings from various fields of study.

April 20.: Einführung Dual Use - Wozu ist unsere Forschung gut? (Volker Ossenkopf-Okada)
April 27: Werkstatt-Diskussion: Verhältnis von Wissenschaft und Politik
May 4: „Zeitenwende“: Wissenschaft vor der Entscheidung zwischen Regierungszuarbeit und Internationalismus (Frederick Heinz)
May 11, seminar room 223/224 of the I. Physical Institute: Werkstatt-Diskussion: Welche Praxis und Bedeutung haben die aktuellen Kooperationen an der Uni Köln? Sind sie "zeitenwendeverträglich"?
May 18: Künstliche Intelligenz: Militärishe Entwicklungen und zivile Potenziale (Kai Weber, Ruben Wenzler, Lyn Sohns)
June 1: Werkstatt-Diskussion: Welche KI-Entwicklungen und -Anwendungen sind ethisch vertretbar?
June 8: Dual Use in der Physik – Vom „nuklearen Sündenfall“ bis heute (Wolfgang Liebert)
June 15: Werkstatt-Diskussion: Alles ist Dual-Use? Die Stellungnahme der HRK 2026
June 22: Nicht-triviale Dual-Use Fälle: Kriterien zur Beurteilung (Volker Ossenkopf-Okada)
June 29: Werkstatt-Diskussion
July 6: There will be no Ethics & Physics seminar on this day due to the Rectorate's “Flagge zeigen” event (https://medfak.uni-koeln.de/en/news-details/flagge-zeigen), which is taking place at the same time.
July 13: does not take place
July 20: Werkstatt-Diskussion: Beispiel: Anwendungen von Quantendetektoren, -computern, -simulationen
July 27: Die Geschichte und Bedeutung der Zivilklausel am DESY (Hannes Jung)
August 3, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba
August 10, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba
August 17, seminar room 215 of the Institute for Theoretical Physics: tba
August 24, seminar room 215 of the Institute for Theoretical Physics: tba
August 31, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba
September 7, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba
September 14, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba
September 21, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba
September 28, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba
October 5, seminar room 0.01 ETP: tba

Previous semesters

Here you can find an overview of the dates and topics from the 2016/17 winter semester through the most recent semester.

What is the seminar series about?

"What should I do?"

Students and lecturers want to explore this fundamental question of ethics together. The aim is to discuss not only the possible negative consequences of science, but also ways in which scientific work can make a meaningful contribution to world affairs.

"What's all this about?"

Many students, but also advanced academics, ask themselves this question and there is rarely the space at the university to pursue it systematically, collectively and yet personally.

"Can physics change the world?"

What are the social and ethical implications of current physical findings? The moral duty to incorporate physical findings into social discourse requires constant educational work, but the connection to world events is fragile. What are the most important findings and approaches?

We want to present and discuss the different views on various topics in a factually sound and controversial manner.

E-mail distribution list

Seminar participants and interested parties are asked to subscribe to our mailing list. Changes to the program and announcements of the individual sessions will be sent via this mailing list. Everyone can subscribe to this mailing list independently (and unsubscribe again if necessary), regardless of whether they have a KLIPS, ILIAS or other account.

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