Günter Altner (1936–2011) was a German interdisciplanarily active scientist,

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, ecologist, environmentalist, writer and lecturer. Altner had briefly been a professor of

human biology Human biology is an interdisciplinary area of academic study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse fields such as genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, anthropology, human ecology, ecology, hum ...

at the University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, subsequently focussed on theology, his second area of education, and was a professor of

protestant theology Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

at the

University of Koblenz and Landau The University of Koblenz and Landau (German ''Universität Koblenz-Landau'') is a public university located in Koblenz and Landau, Germany, founded in 1990. History and profile The University of Koblenz and Landau is one of the youngest univers ...

for 22 years. Altner is known for his teaching and lectures, his numerous books, his role of co-founder and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the

Öko-Institut The Öko-Institut (Institute for Applied Ecology) (sometimes spelled Oeko-Institut) is a non-profit, private-sector environmental research institute with its head office in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Germany,, officially the Fed ...

and his activity as

political advisor Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tele ...

to the German government. With his expertise in ecology and in the theological reflection on

environmental ethics In environmental philosophy, environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy "which reconstructs the essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the sustainable use of natural resourc ...

he held a unique position in the German-language theological and political discourse.Zum Tode von Prof. Dr. mult. Günter Altner
(in German)

Education

From 1956 to 1962, Altner studied

at the

University of Wuppertal The University of Wuppertal (''Universität Wuppertal'') is a German scientific institution, located in Wuppertal, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The university's official name in German is ''Bergische Universität Wuppertal'' ...

and the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, moving on in 1962 to study biology at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

and the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

until 1968.Altner Günter
Speakers planetdiversity, World Congress of the Future of Food and Agriculture, Bonn, Germany, 12–16 May 2008 In 1964 he earned his doctorate degree in biology, and in 1968 a doctorate degree in theology.

Work

As of 1961, Altner began work for the

Evangelical Church in the Rhineland Protestant Church in the Rhineland (german: Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland; EKiR) is a United Protestant church body in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse (Wetzlar). This is actually th ...

. From 1968 bis 1971 he was a director of studies at the Protestant Academy in

Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compan ...

in research on the

relationship between religion and science The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...

. 1971 he became professor ordinarius for

at the University of Education

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district a ...

, and 1973 he joined the ''Forschungsstätte der Evangelischen Studiengemeinschaft'' ( FEST e.V.) in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. From 1977 until 1999, Altner was professor of

at the Universität Koblenz-Landau with focus on

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topi ...

and social ethics. His research covered the areas of

environmental policy Environmental policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws, regulations, and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water pollution, waste management, ecosystem mana ...

and

energy policy Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contri ...

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

and

health policy Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(Web archive)/ref> According to the ...

. He also was member of the scientific advisory council of the Institut Mensch, Ethik und Wissenschaft (IMEW)Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. hc Günter Altner: Theologe und Biologe
, Institut Mensch, Ethik und Wissenschaft (in German) and reflected on the positions taken by the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...

regarding questions of nuclear energy, responsibility towards creation and peace policy. Altner spoke in favor of a

nuclear power phase-out A nuclear power phase-out is the discontinuation of usage of nuclear power for energy production. Often initiated because of concerns about nuclear power, phase-outs usually include shutting down nuclear power plants and looking towards fossil ...

and against the planning of a

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator, generato ...

Wyhl Wyhl () is a municipality in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany. It is known in the 1970s for its role in the anti-nuclear movement. Wyhl was first mentioned in 1971 as a possible site for a nuclear power st ...

. 1977 Altner was among the co-founders of the

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

. From 1977 to 1979 he was member of the

Vorstand In German corporate governance, a ''Vorstand'' is the executive board of a corporation (public limited company). It is hierarchically subordinate to the supervisory board (''Aufsichtsrat''), as German company law imposes a two-tier board of direc ...

of the Vereinigung Deutscher Wissenschaftler, and from 1979 to 1982 member of the Enquete Commission ''Zukünftige Energiepolitik'' of the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

Emeritus

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

he moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he took up contact with the

Hans Jonas Hans Jonas (; ; 10 May 1903 – 5 February 1993) was a German-born American Jewish philosopher, from 1955 to 1976 the Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York City. Biography Jonas was born ...

-Institute among others, providing for example the intellectual inspiration for a symposium to take place with

Karl-Otto Apel Karl-Otto Apel (; 15 March 1922 – 15 May 2017) was a German philosopher and Professor Emeritus at the University of Frankfurt am Main. He specialized on the philosophy of language and was thus considered a communication theorist. He develope ...

in 2010. Altner was called to be member of the ''Ethik-Beirat'' with the German Federal Ministry of Health from 1999 to 2002. In 2003, together with his wife Ingetraud Combecher, he founded the ''Altner–Combecher–Foundation for Ecology and Peace'' which aims to encourage research in ecology,

alternative technology Alternative technology is a term used to refer to technologies that are more environmentally friendly than the functionally equivalent technologies dominant in current practice. The term was coined by Peter Harper, one of the founders of the Centr ...

and

peace studies Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

. The foundation has supported, among others, the

TORCH report The TORCH report (The Other Report on Chernobyl) was a health impacts report requested by the European Greens in 2006, for the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, in reply to the 2006 report of the Chernobyl Forum which was criticized ...

that was published in 2006.''The Other Report on Chernobyl'' (PDF)
/ref>

Publications and influence

Altner authored and edited altogether over 40 books on biological, theological and ecological matters and held approximately 4000 lectures. Altner played a relevant role in the discourse in Germany thanks to his interdisciplinary academic background and his expertise both in ecology and in the theological reflection on

. He is recognized as a pioneer of the dialogue between natural sciences and theology in Germany, taking particular interest in the consequences to the environment that result from the scientific/technological civilisation. His influence reaches beyond German-speaking countries. In particular, biologist

Brian Goodwin Brian Carey Goodwin (25 March 1931 – 15 July 2009) (St Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada - Torbay, Devon, UK) was a Canadian mathematician and biologist, a Professor Emeritus at the Open University and a founder of theoretical biology and bio ...

dedicated part of the last chapter of his book ''How the Leopard Changed its Spots'' to Altner's views on the human responsibility for creation and on rights to be attributed to nature.

Awards and honors

* 2000 honorary doctorate degree of the

Lüneburg University Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

: Gerd Michelsen, Udo E. Simonis and Siegfried de Witt (eds.): ''Ein Grenzgänger der Wissenschaften. Aktiv für Natur und Mensch. Festschrift für Günter Altner zum 65. Geburtstag.'' Edition Sigma, Berlin 2001,

References

University of Lüneburg A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

on 24 February 2012 (in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Altner, Gunter 1936 births 2011 deaths Scientists from Wrocław People from the Province of Lower Silesia 20th-century German biologists 20th-century German Protestant theologians Christianity and environmentalism Non-fiction environmental writers German male non-fiction writers Academic staff of the University of Koblenz and Landau