Workshop - Moralizing in Discourses on Socio-Scientific Problems

With our workshop "Moralizing in Discourses on Socio-Scientific Problems," we kicked off the last third of our project. At the KIT Science Meeting Center, the MoWiKo team got together with scientists from different qualification levels to chat about interim results and put them into a bigger social and scientific context.

Three formats allowed us to gather fresh ideas and gain new perspectives on our research. After an introduction by Senja Post (Karlsruhe), discussions unfolded based on posters created by the subprojects on the current state of research. Three panel discussions formed the core of the workshop. On the linguistic panel, Janine Denlger (Heidelberg) moderated a discussion with Prof. i. R. Clemens Knobloch (Siegen), Prof. Reimut Zohlnhöfer (Heidelberg), and Prof. Magnus Schlette (Heidelberg) on moralization as a pattern of speech acts. The empirical investigation using linguistic methods, the special nature of political discussions in the analysis of moralizations, and the challenge of the descriptive approach to a distinctly normative concept were the focal points of the discussion, which took place first between the panel guests and then also in an exchange with the audience.

Under the heading "Effects of moralization in discourses on socio-scientific problems," M.A. Nicola Peters (Braunschweig), Prof. Christoph Neuberger (Berlin), and M.Sc. Henrik Pröpper (Amsterdam) discussed the deliberative quality of discourses, the legitimacy of sources, and the possibility of constructive cooperation in the face of morally charged debates. The communication science panel was moderated by Lisa Gaffney (Karlsruhe). Based on questions of legitimacy, the relationship between epistemic and moral authority occupied the entire workshop group beyond this panel slot.

The concluding panel of the philosophical subproject, "Ethical-Normative Perspectives on Moralization," was moderated by Elisabeth Does (Karlsruhe). Dr. Stephan Schleissing (Munich), who has studied debates on the application of genetic engineering techniques in depth, and Dr. Christiane Turza (Regensburg), who researches the ethics of communication, exchanged views on the theory and practice of evaluating moralization in social science discourses. The focus was on the tension between discursive ethical principles and interests, as well as the question of what constitutes a communication-oriented discourse.

In the final reflection, the workshop participants took a bird's-eye view, focusing on the discursive dynamics of socio-scientific problems and the roles that society, the media, and politics play in them. The intensive discussions and interdisciplinary exchange during this workshop greatly enriched our project work.