astronomy

Jürgen Mittelstraß

Jürgen Mittelstraß is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jürgen Mittelstraß rather than just read about it. In short: Jürgen Mittelstraß (born 11 October 1936) is a German philosopher especially interested in the philosophy of science. Career Mittelstraß studied philosophy, history and protestant theology at the universities of Bonn, Erlangen, Hamburg and Oxford from 1956 until 1961.

Key takeaways

Jürgen Mittelstraß belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Jürgen Mittelstraß to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Jürgen Mittelstraß from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Jürgen Mittelstraß (born 11 October 1936) is a German philosopher especially interested in the philosophy of science.

Career Mittelstraß studied philosophy, history and protestant theology at the universities of Bonn, Erlangen, Hamburg and Oxford from 1956 until 1961. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Erlangen in 1961, where he afterwards wrote his habilitation, completing in 1968. He was influenced by the Erlanger Konstruktivismus. In 1970 Mittelstraß became a professor of philosophy in the University of Konstanz and from 1970 to 2005 he was a full professor of philosophy of science at Konstanz. He was the lead 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, Technische Universität Berlin, the Universities of Pittsburgh, Iaşi, Duisburg-Essen and the Tartu. Between 2005 and 2015 Mittelstraß held the Chair of the former Austrian Science Council (integrated into the Austrian Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation since 2023). Mittelstraß is a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea (1988).

Private life Jürgen Mittelstraß is married and has four daughters.

Awards Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (German Research Foundation, 1989) Order of Merit of the State of Berlin (1993) Merit Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) (1999) Arthur Burkhardt Prize (1992) Lorenz Oken Medal (Society of German Scientists and Physicians, 1998) Award of the Dr. Margrit Egnér Foundation (2000) Werner Heisenberg Medal (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2000) Bavarian Order of Merit (2006) Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (2011) Nicholas Rescher Prize for Systematic Philosophy (University of Pittsburgh, 2012)

Major works Die Rettung der Phänomene (1962, Dissertation) Neuzeit und Aufklärung (1970, ISBN 3-11-001825-X) Die Möglichkeit von Wissenschaft (1974, ISBN 3-518-07662-0) Wissenschaft als Lebensform (1982, ISBN 3-518-27976-9 Der Flug der Eule (1989, ISBN 3-518-28396-0) Die unzeitgemäße Universität (1994, ISBN 3-518-28759-1) Die Häuser des Wissens (1998, ISBN 3-518-28990-X) Wissen und Grenzen (2001, ISBN 3-518-29166-1) 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, ISBN 978-3-8329-3171-1)

References

"Jürgen Mittelstraß und Christiane Woopen in UNESCO-Gremien berufen" [Jürgen Mittelstraß and Christiane Woopen appointed to UNESCO bodies] (in German). German Commission for UNESCO. July 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-02.

External links

Jürgen Mittelstraß in the German National Library catalogue Homepage von Mittelstraß Article 'On Transdisciplinarity' at the website of the Holy See

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jürgen Mittelstraß

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jürgen Mittelstraß claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jürgen Mittelstraß before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jürgen Mittelstraß ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jürgen Mittelstraß

In research: Jürgen Mittelstraß appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Jürgen Mittelstraß in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Jürgen Mittelstraß is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1936 births, Academic staff of the University of Konstanz, Alumni of the University of Oxford, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jürgen Mittelstraß outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Jürgen Mittelstraß in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Jürgen Mittelstraß means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Jürgen Mittelstraß out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jürgen Mittelstraß in simple terms?

Jürgen Mittelstraß (born 11 October 1936) is a German philosopher especially interested in the philosophy of science. Career Mittelstraß studied philosophy, history and protestant theology at the universities of Bonn, Erlangen, Hamburg and Oxford from 1956 until 1961.

Why does Jürgen Mittelstraß matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jürgen Mittelstraß?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jürgen Mittelstraß.