Matthias Braun
Prof. Dr. Matthias Braun heads the Chair of Social Ethics at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Bonn. In 2023, he was awarded a Falling Walls Award in the field of “Social Sciences and Humanities.” In the same year, Braun received a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).
Does digitization actually create more cohesion?
Prof. Dr. Matthias Braun deals not only with questions of good living and acting, but also with those of good decision-making. Here, for example, he conducts research on digital twins, not least to investigate whether digitization is associated not only with risks and fears, but also with the opportunity for greater social cohesion. He also explores the question of how people deal with the fact that the increasingly effective provision of data ultimately enables predictions that were previously unthinkable, even to the point of predicting the time of one's own death.
Argelander-Professorin Dr. Jacqueline Lorenzen forscht zum Recht der Nachhaltigkeit und Ungleichheit
Bild © Universität Bonn / YouTube
How to conduct research?
Research into these questions is only possible in teams that are composed of different disciplines and areas of expertise. And regardless of whether a team member comes from computer science, political science, or theology, Matthias Braun believes that success requires a good dose of curiosity, a willingness to take risks with a little courage, i.e., to break new ground, and finally, the ability to rejoice in the success of others: Team members should each bring skills that other team members do not have.