Particularly outstanding achievements by young researchers are honored with the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize. The award winners receive 20,000 euros to strengthen their scientific profile and pursue their research interests. They can thus lay the foundation for a further successful research career. The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize is considered the most important award for the next generation of researchers in Germany, only 10 prizes are awarded each year.
Benedikt Göcke (EN)
Roberto Schirdewahn
Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize
Award Winner Professor Benedikt Göcke
Professor Benedikt Göcke was awarded the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize in 2018.
It is controversially discussed whether confessional theology is a scientific discipline that deserves to be part of the university. To show that confessional theology indeed is a respectable scientific discipline, theologians have to foster a constant dialogue both with the natural sciences and the humanities. In this dialogue, they have to show the consistency of theological claims and the results of both the natural sciences and the humanities. The German Research Foundation acknowledged Benedikt Göcke’s creativity and novel insights at the intersection of analytic philosophy, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of science. The Foundation awarded him the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize in 2018.
About the person
Benedikt Göcke studied philosophy, Catholic theology, and religious studies at the universities of Münster, Oxford, and Munich. Following his Master’s degree in 2007, he was awarded a PhD in theology in 2011 and in philosophy in 2013. He has conducted research at the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, where he is an associated member of the faculty of theology and religion.
Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes