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“Interdisciplinary seminars are meant for those who do not wish to remain confined to their specialization, those who are still seeking their field, and especially for those who understand that specialization is not the main point,” summarized the founder of the seminars, former rector of the University of West Bohemia, Miroslav Holeček.

The renewed cycle of seminars began on November 11 with theologian and bioethicist Marek Orko Vácha, who addressed the topic of DNA editing. A fully packed auditorium at the Faculty of Education confirmed that the question of human genome manipulation—whether for curing severe illnesses or influencing appearance and character—is a highly relevant issue for contemporary society. Vácha refrained from prescribing a specific stance on the matter, leaving it to the audience to form their own opinions. “One day, in ten or twenty years, when you are leading laboratories and ethical panels, it will be up to you to decide on these issues,” he reminded the attending students.

A few days later, during Humanities Week, another seminar was held in the hall of the West Bohemian Museum in Pilsen. Its speakers focused primarily on the topic of nuclear energy misuse as a destructive force. From Pythagoras to the atomic bomb, Miroslav Holeček traced the historical journey in his lecture, highlighting the crucial role of mathematics, quantum physics, and Platonic ideas. Filip Grygar from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Pardubice spoke about the German physics genius Werner Heisenberg, presenting him as a contradictory figure—a Nobel laureate and collaborator with a criminal regime whose brilliance haunted Allied scientists and military leaders during World War II.

Pilsen Bishop Tomáš Holub, who has long been engaged in the ethics of war and the concept of a "just war," shared his perspective on nuclear weapons as tools of psychological warfare. Anthropologist Lukáš Friedl from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of West Bohemia concluded the seminar by focusing on the biological limits of technological progress and human adaptation to conditions, such as those in space.

The University of West Bohemia organized interdisciplinary seminars from 1998 to 2017, featuring prominent figures such as Ivan M. Havel, Otakar Motejl, Martin Hilský, and Dana Drábová. The renewed seminar cycle is now under the patronage of the Faculty of Philosophy, in cooperation with the Faculties of Education and Mechanical Engineering, the NTC Research Center, the Diocese of Pilsen, and the Memory of Nations project.

More seminars are planned for early next year, with invited speakers including Daniel Kroupa, a philosopher and Charter 77 signatory.