Purpose and Scope

On the occasion of Prof. Dr. Dieter Birnbacher’s 80th birthday, the RMM Journal invites submissions for a special issue dedicated to honoring his scholarly achievements while exploring the continuing relevance and fertility of his questions for contemporary and future philosophical debates. Birnbacher’s work—particularly in practical philosophy and applied ethics (responsibility theory, bioethics, environmental ethics, future ethics, the role of ethical expertise, among others)—has shaped and expanded conceptual and problem spaces that remain of central importance today. This special issue seeks critical, constructive, and creative contributions that engage with Birnbacher’s central themes, methods, or concepts, or that extend his questions to new domains of inquiry.

Suggested Topics (non-exhaustive)

We welcome papers from a wide range of topics, especially those relating to:

• Theories of Responsibility (ex-ante/ex-post, collective and individual responsibility, responsibility toward future generations)

• Future Ethics / Intergenerational Justice

• Bioethics and Medical Ethics (embryo and reproductive research, organ transplantation, end-of-life issues, genome editing)

• Environmental and Sustainability Ethics (value of nature, rights of nature, priority rules in environmental ethics)

• Ethics of Technological Innovation (technology assessment, responsibility in research and innovation)

• Concepts of Human Dignity, Personhood, and Moral Integrity

• Role and Limits of Ethical Expertise and Ethics Committees

• Methodological Questions in Practical Philosophy (norms vs. recommendations, interaction between philosophy and empirical sciences)

• Conceptual analyses and critical discussions of Birnbacher’s key notions (e.g., “naturalness,” “responsibility for the future”)

Manuscript Format

Papers should ideally be no longer than 8.000 words and must not exceed 10.000 words, including footnotes and bibliography. Abstracts of 150-200 words are needed.

Contact & Editorial Information

For questions and organizational matters, please use the contact form on rmm-journal.com or contact the editors via the website’s central contact address. Submission instructions, review guidelines, and the author template are available on the homepage.