Kulturpreis - Cultural Award 2004


Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. phil. Gerhard Vollmer

  • Wir ehren Gerhard Vollmer für die Grundlegung einer Evolutionären Erkenntnistheorie und für seine herausragende Mittlerfunktion zwischen Natur- und Geisteswissenschaften.

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  • We honor Gerhard Vollmer for his brilliant and creative essays on Evolutionary Epistemology and for his continued efforts as a mediator between the "two cultures", natural sciences and humanities.

    • Curriculum Vitae von Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. phil. Gerhard Vollmer
    17.11.1943 Geboren in Speyer/Rhein.
    1954-1963 Altsprachliches Gymnasium Speyer.
    1963-1968 Studium der Physik, Mathematik und Chemie in München, Berlin, Hamburg (DESY), Freiburg; Diplom in Physik.
    1967-1972 Studium Philosophie und Sprachwissenschaften in Freiburg und Montreal.
    1971 Promotion in Theoretischer Physik bei Siegfried Flügge, Freiburg.
    1971-1972 Research Associate bei Mario Bunge, McGill University, Montreal.
    1971-1974 Wissenschaftlicher Assistent für Theoretische Physik bei Siegfried Flügge in Freiburg.
    1974 Promotion in Philosophie in Freiburg.
    1975-1981 Akademischer Rat für Philosophie an der Universität Hannover.
    1981-1991 Professor für Philosophie am Zentrum für Philosophie und Grundlagen der Wissenschaft Gießen, zugleich Mitglied des Fachbereichs Biologie, mehrfach Geschäftsführender Direktor des Zentrums.
    seit 1991 Professor für Philosophie an der Technischen Universität Braunschweig, Geschäftsführender Leiter des Seminars für Philosophie. Arbeitsgebiete Logik, Erkenntnis- und Wissenschaftstheorie, Naturphilosophie, Künstliche Intelligenz, Evolutionäre Ethik. Vertritt einen Evolutionären Naturalismus.
    Okt./Nov. 2002 Gastvorträge an der Hunan Normal University Changsha in China.
    Auszeichnungen und Ehrungen
    1963 Magnus-Schwerd-Preis für überragende Leistungen in der Mathematik.
    Seit 1998 Mitglied der Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina zu Halle.
    Seit 2001 Mitglied der Braunschweigischen Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft.
    Seit 2002 Gastprofessor an der Hunan Normal University Changsha in China.
    2003 Festschrift für Gerhard Vollmer zum 60. Geburtstag: Kaltblütig. Philosophie von einem rationalen Standpunkt Wolfgang Buschlinger, Christoph Lütge (Herausgeber). Hirzel Verlag, Stuttgart.
    Veröffentlichungen (Auswahl)
    1975-2002 Evolutionäre Erkenntnistheorie (8 Auflagen und 4 Übersetzungen)
    1985-2003 Was können wir wissen? 2 Bde. (3. Auflagen)
    1993 Wissenschaftstheorie im Einsatz
    1995 Auf der Suche nach der Ordnung
    2003 Wieso können wir die Welt erkennen?

    Evolutionary Epistemology -
    Philosophy in the age of science and technology

    Gerhard Vollmer combines in his personage the two academic cultures: He received his Dr. rer. nat. in physics with Siegfried Flügge, by that time (1971) one of the best addresses in theoretical physics. His further studies in philosophy and linguistics led to the Ph. D. degree and opened the door to a professorship in philosophy.

    Vollmer s strengths in speaking and writing are clarity, distinctness and lucidity. His double education as a physicist and philosopher has enabled him to become a mediator between the natural sciences and humanities. He represents the principle of interdisciplinarity at its best. His books are accessible to the layman as well, since Vollmer has the talent to simplify complex facts of case without distorting them.

    We are impressed indeed by Vollmer s philosophical work as a whole but the present prize is mainly for his Ph. D. thesis of 1975 on Evolutionary Epistemology. This book has reached a wide readership since (8 editions in German, 4 translations into foreign languages) and has firmly established Vollmer s reputation as a philosopher and talented writer.

    The concept that our cognitive faculties must be considered a consequence of biological evolution implies a rethinking of the major questions and answers of traditional epistemology in terms of a coherent and consistent naturalistic theory. In fact, in Vollmer s hands epistemology has become a subject of evolutionary science, combining philosophical as well as biological thought, but firmly anchored in a general naturalistic theory of evolution, reaching from the big bang to hominisation.

    Vollmer s thinking has strongly affected the Angloamerican philosophy of biology. A novel approach, called Evolutionary Psychology, is mainly based on Vollmer s (and Lorenz s) ideas and analyses even though this connection is not always appreciated. In any case, Vollmer is recognized world wide by biologists (and many philosophers) as a prototype and guide in epistemological reasoning.

    In conclusion, we want to honor Gerhard Vollmer for his efforts to elaborate the consequences of the modern naturalistic theory of evolution at the level of philosophical reasoning. Moreover, we honor him for acting as an almost ideal mediator between the "two cultures". We urgently need people like Vollmer to bridge the gab between the major academic disciplines.

     
    Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c.mult. Hans Mohr, 
    Universität Freiburg 

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