[Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912-2007): scientist and citizen].

Abstract

This contribution provides an introductory overview of the life and work of Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker for the present volume. It presents him as a prominent scholar of the twentieth century. This pupil of Werner Heisenberg made fundamental contributions to physics, specifically, nuclear physics, and after World War II was able to excel as a highly acknowledged philosopher of science and pioneer in twentieth-century conflict and peace research. Beyond science, politics and religion also counted among the defining influences of Weizsäcker's life, which also molded him into civic leadership. This aspect is treated particularly in the second and central part of this article, which discusses and closely documents his membership in the Leopoldina and his engagement elsewhere, particularly in the sphere of East German church activities.