When does the reading Life, Body, Death take place?

The event begins on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 7:00 PM.

Where does the event take place?

The reading takes place at the St. Johannis Church, Johanniskirchhof 2, 37073 Göttingen.

How much does a regular ticket cost?

A regular ticket costs 19 euros.

Are there reduced tickets available?

Reduced tickets cost 16 euros. These apply, among others, to students and pupils, young people under 18, trainees, volunteers, and unemployed individuals.

What is Life, Body, Death about?

Bettina Schöne-Seifert addresses twelve current controversial topics in medical ethics, including assisted suicide, dementia directives, organ donation, surrogacy, and AI in medicine.

Bettina Schöne-Seifert reads in Göttingen 2026

Name: Life, Body, Death
Start: 2026-10-11T19:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-11T19:00:00+02:00
Location: St. Johannis Kirche

When medicine becomes a matter of conscience: Bettina Schöne-Seifert in Göttingen

On October 11, 2026, Bettina Schöne-Seifert invites you to a literary-philosophical exploration of the major questions of medical ethics at the St. Johannis Church in Göttingen. The focus is on her book Life, Body, Death, which gathers twelve current controversies between medical progress, personal freedom, and societal responsibility.

Between diagnosis, decision, and moral responsibility

Bettina Schöne-Seifert combines medical expertise with philosophical precision. As a physician, philosopher, and long-standing voice in the public discourse on medical ethics, she addresses topics such as assisted suicide, dementia directives, organ donation, surrogacy, and AI in medicine. Her arguments remain scientifically grounded while closely relating to the existential experiences that lie behind abstract terms.

A book between fictional narrative and factual analysis

Life, Body, Death follows a special dramaturgy: Each controversy begins with a fictional short story. This is followed by factual background information before the ethical disputes reveal their full complexity. This combination of narrative vividness and analytical clarity gives the work literary quality and makes medical ethical debates accessible.

The reading atmosphere of the St. Johannis Church

The St. Johannis Church creates a focused space for an author encounter where language, voice, and intellectual precision interact. The literary experience transitions from the personal decision at the bedside to the major questions of cultural discourse: What does a self-determined life mean? What limits does medical progress possess? And how does our relationship with body, illness, and death change?

A prominent voice in medical ethics

Schöne-Seifert teaches medical ethics at the University of Münster, was a member of the German Ethics Council, and belongs to scientific academies. For her work, she has received, among other awards, the Arthur Burkhardt Prize and the Bielefeld Science Prize. Her book Life, Body, Death has been nominated for the German Non-Fiction Prize 2026.

The event of the Göttingen Literary Autumn promises an informed reading on questions that affect every person. Visitors can expect not a distant textbook lecture, but an intensive encounter with current conflicts in medical ethics, told in a clear, differentiated, and linguistically precise manner.