Naslov
"Odgovornost znanstevnika" u društvu narušene etike i demokracije. Primjer Wernera K. Heisenberga i njemačkog "Uranprojekta"
("Verantwortung des Wissenschaflers" in a Society of Damaged Ethics and Democracy. The Case of Werner Heisenberg and the German "Uranprojekt")

Autori
Petković, Tomislav

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
12. DANI FRANE PETRIĆA/12th DAYS OF FRANE PATRIĆ / Hrvoje Jurić - Zagreb : Hrvatsko filozofsko društvo, 2003, 88 - 91

Skup
Demokracija i etika/Democracy and Ethics

Mjesto i datum
Cres, Hrvatska, 22.09.2003. - 24.09.2003

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Uranprojekt; njemački projekt nuklearne energije; etički pojam 'aitia'; moralni sukob između dužnosti i prinude; Russell-Einsteinov manifest
(Uranprojekt; German reactor research project for peaceful use of atomic energy; moral notion of 'aitia'; moral conflictbetween duty and obligation; Russell-Einstein manifesto)

Sažetak
Why did Werner K. Heisenberg not in his rich theoretical work develop, as the Nobel Prize– winning physicist and one of the greatest universal physicists and philosophers of the 20th century, a significant moral theory like the Kantian one is? However, from his various papers, and even more from his real life situation, both a concept and the principle of "responsibility of the scientist" emerge out to be a cornerstone of Heisenberg’ s moral framework. During the war period (1939 – 1945), Heisenberg was focused on the theoretical models of originating and spectrum of cosmic rays, but most of the time he had been engaged in the great "Uranprojekt" conducted by the German Army and State. That project was understood as the counterpart to the famous Manhattan Project conducted at the same time by the USA government together with the Allies. With respect to the Heisenberg case, historians of science can be divided in two groups: those who admire Heisenberg by putting up his theoretical work during World War II, against those who realistically underline his role in the German "Uranprojekt". It seems that it is not possible to cut off simply various arguments and hypotheses by the Occam’ s Razor which would finally lead to the unique solution of the Heisenberg case. However, contemporaneous historians of science agree today that during the war Heisenberg was homo politicus who was working as the scientist under the circumstances of the Nazi ideology. In that ideology "academic freedom of research" as well as the democratic and ethics aspirations of the German society were brutally violated. A few important places and episodes from that time will be cleared up in the presentation, such as: (i) the Johannes Stark’ s attack on Heisenberg due to non– demonstration of his pro-German spirit, (ii) Himmler’ s letter to Heisenberg, (iii) Heisenberg as one of the energetic leaders of the "Uranproject" started up in September 1939 by the German army’ s Weapons Bureau. Heisenberg’ s work in the KWI in Berlin-Dahlem in the secret laboratory building of the camouflaged name "The Virus– House", and in parallel at the University of Leipzig will be illuminated. In May 1942 Heisenberg made his first successful Leipzig test of chain reaction with the reactor based on the heavy water moderator, and already at June 4 of the same year in the "Harnack– Haus" at Berlin-Dahlem a meeting with A. Speer (Minister of Armament of The Third Reich) was organized on the issue of the German atomic weapons. We shall also be focussing on Heisenber’ s visit to Bohr’ s institute in Copenhagen in September 1941 – since then the two scientists were on the opposite sides of the war. A drawing (sketch) of Heisenberg’ s reactor shown to Bohr during that visit is still a controversial issue among historians: was it a proof to Bohr that German scientists were involved merely in basic reactor research for peaceful use of atomic energy, or was it essentially the Germans’ idea of a bomb (the Los Alamos physicists)? Heisenberg's principle of the "responsibility of scientist", developed after the war and whose range and influence are lesser in comparison with the Russell– Einstein Manifesto, shall be explained within the tradition of ethics and philosophical thinking. On the one hand, for the first time in the history of science according to our insight, Heisenberg's case will be examined from the doctrine of 4 causes (matter, form, efficient cause, and final cause or end) point of view explained in the Aristotle's Physics (Physics, B.II.3). We shall try to figure out a solution of Heisenberg's case on the root of the moral notion of aitia (ή α ι τ ί α ), an abstract noun which has a double meaning: cause, reason, but also blame, accusation, and by referring to aition (τ ό α ι τ ι ο ν , neuter of adjective α ι τ ι ο ς ) which answers the question Why? Namely, aitia and aitios indicate not only causation but also blameworthiness, both in legal and moral contexts. On the other hand, Heisenberg's stormy life overloaded by the unexpected events, will be examined in the framework of the Kantian doctrine of virtue, particularly by applying a hard moral issue of the conflict between duty and obligations. Heisenberg lived and acted in a mixed way: from duty as well as according to duty, so his case gives an evidence for the strong interference between duty and obligations rather than annulling the moral conflict, as it should be expected by referring to the Kantian moral philosophy.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Fizika, Filozofija, Povijest

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