Observation and Evidence in the Anthropocene

Since the Nobel Prize winner Paul Crutzen almost incidentally declared our present times to be the new era of the Anthropocene at a UN-conference in Mexico in 2000, an intensive debate has emerged on the plausibility of this statement and on the evidence the era of the Anthropocene could be based on. The hypothesis of the Anthropocene implies a concept fundamentally different from many precursors: It is assumed that humans and their societies do not have a symbiotic relationship with nature but rather modify and transform natural processes. If we take this seriously, a fundamental revision of almost every concept of the interrelation between humans and nature, but also of our concept of ourselves as humans, as well as our responsibilities as scientists would be necessary.

In her paper, Professor Heike Egner will discuss scientific practices of gathering evidence (observation) and the structure of the arguments behind the evidence (causation).