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Lunch Lecture Series in a new guise - and with a highly relevant subject

With the virtual Lunch Lecture Series FRIAS breaks new ground. The theme of the series this semester deals with an explosive topic: What does the debate about the postfactual mean for science and society?

At the latest with the slogan of "alternative facts", with which Kellyanne Conway, advisor to the newly inaugurated 45th President of the USA, commented on the false statements about the attendance figures at the inauguration ceremony, it has become clear that confidence in facts has rapidly diminished. This has consequences not only for social and political life, but also and above all for public confidence in the working methods and results of science, as has been demonstrated not least in the Corona pandemic.

The current Lunch Lecture series "Science and Society in a Postfactual Era" also deals with this topic. Although science and new technologies influence humanity to an unprecedented extent, more and more citizens are losing confidence in them. Statements that contradict scientifically proven facts are presented as "alternative facts", while factual and evidence-based observations are repeatedly disguised as "fake news". This is problematic not only for the scientific community, but in the long term also for all democracies that rely on experts in decision-making.

For the current Lunch Lecture series, organizer Dr. Philipp Kellmeyer, neurologist, medical ethicist and member of the FRIAS Saltus! Group "Responsible Artificial Intelligence", organizer Dr. Philipp Kellmeyer, neurologist, medical ethicist and member of the FRIAS Saltus! group "Responsible Artificial Intelligence", has put together a colorful program to address the question of the reasons for the growing mistrust of facts and science as a "fact provider" and the role of digital technologies in postfactual discourse from various perspectives. In four lectures, scientists from the fields of law, humanities, politics and physics will examine current challenges for science and society and ask how science can be strengthened as a cornerstone of democracy and sustainable development.

Due to the restrictions on contacts during the Corona crisis, the lectures unfortunately cannot be held on the traditional Thursday date and as a face-to-face event. For this reason, FRIAS has decided to move the Lunch Lecture Series to the digital space: All interested parties (students, staff, lecturers in and around the University of Freiburg) can zoom into the digital lecture hall on four dates in June and July (Wednesdays 3:00 - 4:00 pm). Please contact to register in advance for participation .

All dates of the Lunch Lecture Series can be found at: https://www.frias.uni-freiburg.de/en/events/lunch-lectures

By the way: The lectures of the series will be recorded and can be viewed in our FRIAS media library afterwards.