Denkfest 2017

Was the reformation a necessary predecessor to the enlightenment? Did it mean progress for women? And what about reform in Islam? How does science reform itself? And which kinds of reformation of thinking lie ahead?

Speakers

Software engineer, editor of alrahman.de and author, Zürich

Kerem Adıgüzel

Kerem Adıgüzel is the author of the book «Schlüssel zum Verständnis des Koran» (Key to the Understanding of the Quran) and founder and editor of the Muslim portal alrahman.de.

He criticises that the teachings of Islam have been skewed over the centuries by dogmas, doctrines, and additions. He advocates a progressive reformation of Islam and plans to open a liberal mosque in Zürich.

Lecturer for health care law and bioethics, Zürich University (CH)

Roberto Andorno

Roberto Andorno is a researcher and lecturer at Zurich University and focuses on issues at the interface of law, human rights and bioethics.

As a member of UNESCO's International Bioethics Committee he participated in the drafting of both the International Declaration on Human Genetic Data as well as the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.

Lawyer, author and mosque founder, Berlin (D)

Seyran Ateș

Seyran Ateş, born 1963 in Istanbul, has been living in Germany since 1969 works as a lawyer in her own law firm.

As a women's and human rights activist and Muslim woman she is one of the most important voices against religious and tradition-bound violence. In June 2017, she opened she opened the liberal Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque in Berlin together with six partners.

Historian, bestselling author and translator, Vienna (A)

Philipp Blom

Bestselling author and historian Philipp Blom explores the history of mentalities.

In his recent German-language book «Was auf dem Spiel steht» he illustrates that the ideas of the modern state, which evolved during the enlightenment, are at stake. Radical market liberals as well as authoritarian populists are challenging the Western values of freedom, democracy and justice.

Reader and computer scientist, University of Bath (UK)

Joanna J. Bryson

Joanna J. Bryson's principle scientific passion is understanding cognition, particularly as it relates to explaining human culture, but also natural intelligence more broadly. She models and tests scientific theories by designing artificial intelligent systems.

IBM Watson lists Joanna J. Bryson as one of the thirty most relevant AI researchers to follow on twitter.

Christian apostate and blogger, Zürich (CH)

Raphael Dorigo

Raphael Dorigo studied applied linguistics and has been running his own blog for several years.

He grew up in a Christian environment and was active in his church as a musician, a youth worker and preacher. After a series of investigations his belief eventually evaporated. As a blogger he documents his thoughts and ideas and contributes to the discourse on religion.

Research affiliate at the Centre for Music and Science, Cambridge University (UK)

Satinder P. Gill

Satinder P. Gill is an experimental psychologist with a particular interest in social interactions, gestures and tacit knowledge.

She researches the processes underlying knowledge transfer in human interaction, the role of the body in sense-making, the dynamics of technologically-mediated interaction as well as the function of rhythm in facilitating human communication.

Physician and former homeopath, Heidelberg (D)

Natalie Grams

Natalie Grams is a physician and used to run a flourishing homeopathic clinic. She decided to write a rebuttal of the book "Die Homöopathie-Lüge" (the lie of homeopathy) and started to look in detail at the critique being raised.

The intended text to save the honour of homeopathy turned into a careful overview of what remains of its claims after an unbiased analysis.

Master of New College of the Humanities, London (UK)

A. C. Grayling

Anthony C. Grayling is a philosopher and writer and the founder of the New College of the Humanities.

As a vice president of the British Humanist Association and author of more than 30 books on humanism, moral values, philosophical logic and the struggles for liberty and rights in Western society, he engages in public debate and helps to bring philosophy to the wider community.

Professor for systematic theology, Zürich University (CH)

Stefan Grotefeld

Stefan Grotefeld is professor of systematic theology at Zurich University and shows a particular interest in questions on political and business ethics.

He is the head of the "Lebenswelten" ("living environments") department of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zürich. Furthermore, he acts as director of the association "500 Years Zurich Reformation".

Blogger, Open Access Aktivist und Spezialist für Informationssysteme, Zürich (CH)

Christian Gutknecht

Christian Gutknecht hat Informationswissenschaft und Wirtschaftsinformatik studiert und arbeitet heute als Spezialist für Informationssysteme beim Schweizer Nationalfonds.

Privat bloggt er auf wisspub.net zum Thema Open Access. Seit 2014 versucht er herauszufinden, was Schweizer Hochschulen an die drei grössten Wissenschaftsverlage bezahlen.

Spokesperson of the Association of Islamic Organisations in Zürich, Zürich (CH)

Abduselam Halilović

Abduselam Halilović is a student of Islamic studies, modern history, and political science at the University of Zürich.

He's a board member of the Association of Islamic Organisations in Zürich and acts as their spokesperson. He teaches Islamic RE to primary school pupils of the Muslim Community of Bosnia in Zürich and is a volunteer youth worker in the local Muslim community.

Former naturopath and student of medical life sciences, Kiel (D).

Britt Hermes

Britt Hermes studied naturopathy and worked as a naturopathic doctor for three years. By and by she recognised that she had been taught unscientific and even dangerous practices.

Consequently, she gave up her profession and became an outspoken advocate of evidence-based medicine. She is now a student of medical life sciences at the University of Kiel.

Professor of neuropsychology, Zurich University (CH)

Lutz Jäncke

Lutz Jäncke is among the most cited neurosceintists. His interests include learning, the processing of music in the brain, and the interplay of cognitive and motor signalling.

He was elected head of the neuropsychology unit at Zurich University in 2002 and co-founded the International Normal Aging and Plasticity Imaging Center, which is also based in Zürich.

Director, Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies, Uni of Arizona (USA)

Susan Karant-Nunn

Susan Karant-Nunn’s work focuses on the social and cultural history of early modern Europe, with emphasis on the German-speaking lands during the Reformation, and has authored numerous books on the subject.

She has intensively studied the works of Martin Luther and his impact on society. One area she investigated in depth was the Reformator's view on women.

Futurist, consultant and author, The Futures Agency, Basel (CH)

Gerd Leonhard

Gerd Leonhard is a futurist and is particularly interested in how we can sensibly deal with new technologies. He has advised numerous organisations on questions concerning the future and has given more than 1500 presentations in 50+ countries.

He is the author of several books on future technology. In 2015, Wired listed him as one of the top 100 most influential people in Europe.

Mayor of Zürich, board member «500 years Zurich Reformation»

Corine Mauch

Corine Mauch was elected as mayor of Zurich in 2008. Before that she represented the social democrats in the local assembly for nine years.

She studied agricultural economics at the ETH Zurich, Chinese studies at Zurich Uni and political and administrative sciences at Lausanne Uni. She's a member of the board of the association «500 years Zurich Reformation».

Professor for theoretical astrophysics, Zurich University (CH)

Ben Moore

Ben Moore's astrophysics research is centred on understanding the origin and evolution of the Universe and how stars, planets and galaxies form. These investigation often include the use of custom-built supercomputers.

He has written two popular books on astronomy and also composes electro-rock music under his artist name «Professor Moore».

Ordinarius für Neurobiologie am Institute für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Zürich (CH)

Christian Neuhauss

Stephan Neuhauss hat in Tübingen (D) und Eugene (US) Biologie studiert und an der Harvard Medical School mit einer entwicklungsgenetischen Arbeit promoviert. Nach Stationen am Max-Planck Institut und der ETH Zürich, ist er derzeit Ordinarius für Neurobiologie am Institute für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Zürich.

Er ist Board Member der Open-Access-Zeitschriften Open Biology, PLOS ONE und Matters.

Professor for History, Unversity of Zürich (CH)

Bernd Roeck

Bernd Roeck's research is centred around the cultural and social history and the history of art in the early modern era, particularly the history of cities and of marginalised groups and minorities.

He co-curated the exhibition «Metamorphoses 1400 – 1600: Europe in the Renaissance», which the Swiss National Museum in Zurich ran from August until November 2016.

Literary scholar, poet, translator and essayist, Berlin (D)

Tobias Roth

Tobias Roth intruduced himself to the literary community in 2013 with his poetry collection «Aus Waben». Since then he published a range of essays and translations from Italian, Latin and French. He co-founded the publishing house «Das Kulturelle Gedächtnis».

In 2017, he published a novel translation of Voltaire's «Le Fanatisme ou Mahomet Le Prophète» into German.

Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University (UK)

Anders Sandberg

Anders Sandberg is a researcher and co-founder of the transhumanism think tank Eudoxa.

In his research at the Future of Humanity Institute he investigates societal and ethical issues surrounding new technology, including human enhancements, and means to assess the capabilities of future technologies and their and underlying science.

President of the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences, Rossdorf (D)

Amardeo Sarma

Amardeo Sarma studied electrotechnics at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi and at the Technical Uni of Darmstadt.

He is co-founder and chairman of the German Skeptics (GWUP – Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences), fellow and executive committee member of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and on the board of the European Council of Skeptical Organisations ECSO.

Co-president Freethinkers Region Berne, Berne (CH)

Eliane Schmid

Eliane Schmid studied history and English language and literature as well as public law.

She now works in communications and – as co-president of the Bernese Freethinkers – regularly organises events for members and the general public.

Eliane Schmid will lead through the Denkfest Saturday, which focuses on reformations of thinking in religion.

Philosopher and writer, Trier (D)

Michael Schmidt-Salomon

Michael Schmidt-Salomon is a philosopher and writer and the spokesperson of the Giordano Bruno Foundation. His books sold more than 250.000 times in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and have been translated into several languages.

The Global Thought Leader Index has called him one of the most influential voices in the German speaking area.

Senior lecturer in Criminology, University College London (UK)

Julia Shaw

Julia Shaw researches topics at the intersection of psychology and the law, including the functioning of our memory, and the reliability of police interrogations and lie detection.

She is specifically interested in the phenomenon of false memories and how these may be – intentionally or unintentionally – generated by manipulative statements.

Science journalist at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich

Lena Stallmach

Lena Stallmach studied biology in Zürich and Berlin with a focus on genetics, neurobiology and environmental sciences. She worked as a technical assistant at Zurich University hospital for a year before opting for a career in journalism.

She joined the NZZ science team in 2008 and specialises in biological topics such as the neurosciences, micro and molecular biology, and immunology.

Professor of Sociology of Religion, University of Lausanne (CH)

Jörg Stolz

Jörg Stolz is professor of sociology of religion at the University of Lausanne and president of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion.

He was lead author of the investigation «Individual religiosity in times of social change», which was governed by the Swiss National Science Foundation, and has been researching the secular population in Switzerland since 2016.

Head Health Ethics & Policy Lab, Zurich University (CH)

Effy Vayena

Effy Vayena researches ethical and policy questions in personalized medicine and digital health.

She is particularly interested in the development of frameworks and procedures to ethically assess big data applications in scientific research and in the context of global health programmes. Another core area of her concern is the ethics of citizen science.

Biologist, co-founder Bento Bioworks, London (UK)

Bethan Wolfenden

Bethan Wolfenden studied biochemistry and took a break from her PhD studies in synthetic biology to co-found Bento Bioworks, a startup aiming to build a highly portable DNA laboratory.

The founders intend to make their firmware and specs publicly available and hope the kit will not only be used commercially and in education but also trigger community science projects.

Stand-up comedian and tutor at the City Academy, London (UK)

Kate Smurthwaite

Kate Smurthwaite studied mathematics and used to work as an investment banker. In 2004 she started stand-up comedy and is now known for her witty and sharp-tongued performances.

She can also be regularly heard and seen on British Radio and TV channels. She also teaches at the London-based City Academy, which specialises in the performing and creative arts.

Project for the remembrance of the works by Voltaire and Goethe (CH)

Ensemble Prophet 3.0

A group of actors is determined to bring Voltaire's "Le Fanatisme ou Mahomet Le Prophète" in the version by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe back on stage. Will they succeed? Find out on Denkfest Saturday.

The company:
- Zarina Tadjibaeva (actor)
- Andrej Togni (actor, author)
- Manuel Löwensberg (actor)
- René Schnoz (actor)