Bernhard Irrgang was one of the first professors at the Institute of Philosophy at TUD Dresden University of Technology, which was founded in 1992. From 1993 to 2019, he taught philosophy of technology there and initially headed the Center for Interdisciplinary Technology Research. In doing so, he contributed to the incipient cooperation between the then new Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science and the existing Faculties of Natural and Technical Sciences. He was also a policy advisor for several institutions and established scientific contacts with research institutions in Europe, India and Latin America.

Irrgang understood the subject of philosophy of technology in a very broad and diverse sense. The spectrum ranged from a methodology of technological knowledge, which he interpreted with the help of philosophical hermeneutics, to an ethics of technology, in which he oriented himself towards the Christian image of man against the background of his additional studies in Catholic theology. He focused on the sustainability of the natural environment, medicine and genetic engineering as well as artificial intelligence and robotics. Finally, he devoted himself to the embedding of science and technology in modern societies and developed a cultural theory of technology. In addition to numerous articles, he has published almost thirty monographs on all of these areas.

Irrgang was involved in teaching with well-attended introductory lectures and seminars as well as challenging research colloquia. His courses on the philosophy of technology were a firm fixture in the university's Studium Generale. Since applied ethics played a major role in the teacher training courses in ethics, he also faced a special didactic challange in this field.

With the death of Bernhard Irrgang, born in 1953, the TUD Dresden University of Technology has lost an interdisciplinary and internationally renowned academic. The members of the Institute of Philosophy mourn the loss of a valued colleague.

Prof. em. Dr. Johannes Rohbeck on behalf of the Institute of Philosophy

The funeral service will take place on 15.03.2024, 1 p.m. in the Catholic Church of St. Hubertus, Am Hochwald 8, 01324 Dresden. The urn burial will then take place at the nearby Waldfriedhof Bad Weißer Hirsch, Am Heiderand 8-10.