Colloquium Fundamentale at KIT

As part of our MoWiKo project (Moralizing in Science Communication – Causes, Forms, and Effects), the Colloquium Fundamentale of the Studium Generale. Forum Science and Society (FORUM) at KIT will focus on the opportunities and risks of moralizing in public debates during the summer semester of 2026.

The focus is on the question of how moral judgments influence public debates, freedom of speech, and academic freedom, and under what conditions they lead to productive criticism of abuses or to a problematic narrowing of discourse. The background to this is that public debates are frequently criticized for being moralized. As a result, these discourses are said to be shaped less by the search for nuanced arguments than by the desire to position oneself morally correctly. Moralizing is also discredited because it can be used as a means to devalue other viewpoints and hinder open exchange. At the same time, however, moralizing is an important driver of social progress. Without the denunciation of injustice, discrimination, or abuse of power, key advances would be hardly conceivable.

This tension surrounding moralizing will be explored at the Colloquium Fundamentale by speakers from various academic disciplines, as well as during a panel discussion. Further information and all dates for the colloquium can be found on the website of the FORUM .

Franziska Schreier