Physics is Part of Culture and the Basis of Technology

Fundamental aspects of modern life owe their existence to the achievements of scientific reason. In other words, science is an integral element of the modern world and simultaneously the epitome of the rational nature of a technical culture that makes up the essence of the modern world. Without science, the modern world would lose its very nature and modern society its future. Right from the start, physics forms the core of European scientific development. It is the original paradigm of science, the foundation of technology and a constitutive part of a rational culture. It will remain a model methodological discipline in the future and its strengths will be used fruitfully in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. ∗A slightly revised version of this paper appeared in a vulume edited by the German Physical Society: Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (ed.), Physics – Physics Research: Topics, Significance and Prospects. Bonn: DPG 2002, 195–198.