Central European Perspectives
Although the countries of Central Europe (CE) have a long tradition of critical reflection on science and technology, this tradition was severely curtailed from World War II to the end of the Cold War. Only since the early 1990s have discussions emerged that might be described as contributing to bioethics, environmental ethics, computer ethics, and related fields of science, technology, and ethics. Other traditions of scholarship nevertheless have developed in ways that may be related to these fields, and deserve consideration, especially when placed within a larger historical and philosophical context.
Boundary Issues
CE has been defined according to different criteria. A variety of factors—geographic, religious, linguistic, strategic, ethnic, historical, sociopsychological, and developmental—have shaped the dividing lines of the lands located between Russia and the German-speaking countries. In some conceptions, even Russia and Germany were included. For centuries, it was the route by which conquering Central Asian tribes—Huns, Magyars, Tatars, and others—invaded Europe. It was also the path by which Western armies—those of Sweden's Gustavus Adolphus, Napoleon, and Hitler—attacked, attempting to expand east into the center of Russia. This region was an important strategic area called the Euro-Asian heartland or pivot area. Whoever controlled the territory was said to control the world, which is why CE was repeatedly subject to invasions from east and west.
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