1. The Need of New Approaches - Kritische Stimmen zur ...

Chapter 9: The Thought Experiment
If it must seem to an unprejudiced reader fairly unlikely that a theory should have survived for a hundred years
without being seriously criticized, this is all the more reason for a supposedly critically oriented field such as that of
science history that should have long-since examined the clearly uncritical behaviour of the supposedly objective
natural sciences. Now the examination would have to be extended in order to determine what forces in the field of
science history have so far prevented it from discharging its own duties. [...]
In view of its duties of legal supervision, we see the following need for action on the part of the responsible
ministry, if its examination confirms our documentation.
1. Obtainment of statements from the country’s academic institutions as to the critical questions raised by our
documentation.
2. Given that the field of academic physics is almost entirely financed from tax revenues and that a large
percentage of its employees have the status of civil servants, it must be determined why those who are obliged by
virtue of their office to follow the German constitution and thereby to secure scientific freedom have deliberately
done the opposite and have done away with scientific freedom in the field of theoretical physics.
3. Adoption of measures to reintroduce scientific freedom in the said specialist field by the organization of
public and academic lectures and seminars on the criticism of the theories of relativity and on the history of the
suppression and defamation of the criticism over eight decades.
4. Provision of special funds, particularly for these institutional libraries whose stocks are, according to our
impression, “clinically uncontaminated” by critical publications, for the purchasing of critical literature, as well as
the most important older works via the antiquarian bookshops, and the latest monographs and magazines, so that
the students have a real opportunity of examining the criticism. In this connection we hope with the future extended
text versions of our documentation to give still better support.
5. Revisions of the curricula of the higher schools in which even pupils in their final courses must precisely
calculate by how many years the space-travelling twin, on his or her return to the earth, is younger than the twin
who remained on the earth. If independent and critical thinking, i.e. the responsible adult citizen, is to be an
educational objective then a rational examination of the criticism will certainly also be required. So far it does not
appear in either the curricula or the schoolbooks.
6. Research assignments for the fields of science history and science sociology on the question as to how it
came to the break with tradition in 1922 and why this situation could endure for eight decades. And perhaps also on
why no one appears to have noticed anything.
7. Informing the public about the scandal of 80 years of suppression of scientific freedom, including a selfcritical
appraisal as to why the authorities responsible for legal supervision have not long since intervened.
8. A public apology vis-à-vis all the dead critics as well as those still living, for the injustice they have
suffered.”
The text is published in the Internet under: http://www.ekkehard-friebe.de/report1.pdf
157 / 2002-10-03 - MINISTERIUM FÜR WISSENSCHAFT, FORSCHUNG U. KUNST. Stuttgart.
CD-ROM 1.1 (Copy No.: 126)
158 / 2002-10-03 - BAYERISCHES STAATSMINISTERIUM FÜR WISSENSCHAFT, FORSCHUNG U. KUNST. München.
CD-ROM 1.1 (Copy No.: 127)
159 / 2002-10-03 - SENATSVERWALTUNG FÜR WISSENSCHAFT, FORSCHUNG U. KULTUR. Berlin.
CD-ROM 1.1 (Copy No.: 128)
160 / 2002-10-03 - MINISTERIUM FÜR WISSENSCHAFT, FORSCHUNG U. KULTUR. Potsdam.
CD-ROM 1.1 (Copy No.: 129)
161 / 2002-10-04 - SENATOR FÜR BILDUNG UND WISSENSCHAFT. Bremen.
CD-ROM 1.1 (Copy No.: 130)
162 / 2002-10-04 - FREIE U. HANSESTADT HAMBURG, BEHÖRDE FÜR WISSENSCHAFT U. FORSCHUNG. Hamburg.
CD-ROM 1.1 (Copy No.: 131)
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G. O. Mueller: STR 2012