Jürgen Mittelstraß (born 11 October 1936 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

especially interested in the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

Career

Mittelstraß studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the universities of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

from 1956 until 1961. He received his Ph.D. from the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1961, where he afterwards wrote his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

, completing in 1968. He was influenced by the '' Erlanger Konstruktivismus''. In 1970 Mittelstraß became a professor of philosophy in the

University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz () is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966. The university is Germany's southernmost university and is ...

and from 1970 to 2005 he was a full professor of philosophy of science at Konstanz. He is the editor of the ''Enzyklopädie Philosophie und Wissenschaftstheorie'' (4 volumes, 1980–1996; second edition 2005–2018, 8 volumes).

Academic recognition

Mittelstraß is member of numerous scientific and philosophical societies and has received several awards. He has been awarded honorary doctorates from six universities, the

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...

, the Universities of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Iaşi, Duisburg-Essen and the

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. He is a member of the

Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (), abbreviated BBAW, is the official academic society for the natural sciences and humanities for the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg. Housed in three locations in and around Ber ...

, the

Pontifical Academy of Sciences The Pontifical Academy of Sciences (, ) is a Academy of sciences, scientific academy of the Vatican City, established in 1936 by Pope Pius XI. Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical, and natural sciences and the study ...

and the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

(1988).

Private life

Mittelstraß is married and has four daughters.

Awards

* Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (

German Research Foundation The German Research Foundation ( ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019, the DFG had a funding bud ...

, 1989) *

Order of Merit of the State of Berlin Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

(1993) * Merit Cross 1st Class of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(''Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse'') (1999) * Arthur Burkhardt Prize (1992) * Lorenz Oken Medal (

Society of German Scientists and Physicians A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

, 1998) * Award of the Dr. Margrit Egnér Foundation (2000) * Werner Heisenberg Medal (

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation () is a foundation that promotes international academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. Established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is funded by t ...

, 2000) *

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

(2006) *

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

(2011) * Nicholas Rescher Prize for Systematic Philosophy (

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, 2012)

Major works

* Die Rettung der Phänomene (1962, Dissertation) * Neuzeit und Aufklärung (1970, ) * Die Möglichkeit von Wissenschaft (1974, ) * Wissenschaft als Lebensform (1982, * Der Flug der Eule (1989, ) * Die unzeitgemäße Universität (1994, ) * Die Häuser des Wissens (1998, ) * Wissen und Grenzen (2001, ) * Wem gehört das Sterben?, ''in: Robertson-von Trotha, Caroline Y. (ed.): Tod und Sterben in der Gegenwartsgesellschaft. Eine interdisziplinäre Auseinandersetzung Kulturwissenschaft interdisziplinär/Interdisciplinary Studies on Culture and Society, Vol. 3' (2008, )

References

External links

*
Homepage von Mittelstraß

Article 'On Transdisciplinarity'
at the website of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mittelstrass, Jurgen 1936 births Living people Writers from Düsseldorf University of Bonn alumni University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni University of Hamburg alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford Academic staff of the University of Konstanz Members of Academia Europaea Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Transdisciplinarity German philosophers of science Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winners Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class