languages_spoken_or_written peter janich
Konstanz ( locally ; ___MASK92___ : Constance , Latin : " Constantia ") is a university city with approximately 80 , 000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany , bordering Switzerland . The city houses the University of Konstanz and was for more than 1200 years residence of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Konstanz . Low ___MASK2___ or Low Saxon ( or in the wider sense ) is a West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands . It is descended from Old Saxon in its earliest form . The Elbe (; Low ___MASK2___ : " Elv ") is one of the major rivers of Central Europe . It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia ( Czech Republic ), then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven , northwest of Hamburg . Its total length is . The Philipp University of Marburg , was founded in 1527 by Philip I , Landgrave of Hesse ( usually called the Magnanimous , although the updated meaning " haughty " is sometimes given ) as one of Germany ' s oldest universities , dating back to a Protestant foundation . As a state university it no longer has any religious affiliation . Peter Janich ( born 4 January 1942 , Munich ) is a professor of philosophy at the University of Marburg . Janich studied physics , philosophy and psychology at the Universities of Erlangen and Hamburg . He attained a doctorate in philosophy in 1969 and during 1969 / 70 was a guest lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin . From 1973 - 80 he was a professor for philosophy of science of the accurate sciences at the University of Konstanz . Since 1980 he has held the chair for systematic philosophy with an emphasis on theoretical philosophy at the Philipps University of Marburg . Janich is the joint founder and representative of the approach of methodical culturalism , a development of the methodical constructivism of the Erlanger school ( `` Erlanger constructivism '' ) . He developed the concept of Protophysics with Paul Lorenzen and Rüdiger Inhetveen . Philosophy ( from ___MASK43___ , " philosophia ", literally " love of wisdom ") is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence , knowledge , values , reason , mind , and language . The term was probably coined by Pythagoras ( c . 570  c . 495 BC ). Philosophical methods include questioning , critical discussion , rational argument and systematic presentation . Classic philosophical questions include : Is it possible to know anything and to prove it ? What is most real ? However , philosophers might also pose more practical and concrete questions such as : Is there a best way to live ? Is it better to be just or unjust ( if one can get away with it )? Do humans have free will ? A city is a large and permanent human settlement . Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town in general ___MASK92___ language meanings , many cities have a particular administrative , legal , or historical status based on local law . Erlangen ( East Franconian : " Erlang ") is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria , Germany . It is located north - west of Nuremberg at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary , the " Schwabach ". Erlangen has more than 100 , 000 inhabitants . Marburg is a university town in the ___MASK2___ federal state (" Bundesland ") of Hesse , capital of the Marburg - Biedenkopf district (" Landkreis "). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximately 72 , 000 . The Metropolregion Hamburg ( ___MASK2___ for Hamburg Metropolitan Region ) is the compilation of eight districts in the ___MASK2___ federal state of Lower Saxony , six districts in Schleswig - Holstein , two districts in Mecklenburg - Vorpommern and the city - state of Hamburg in northern Germany . It covers an area of ca , and is home to more than 5 . 1 million inhabitants . The University of Konstanz is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden - Württemberg , Germany . It was founded in 1966 , and the main campus on the Gießberg was opened in 1972 . The University is situated on the shore of Lake Constance just four kilometers from the Swiss border . As one of eleven ___MASK2___ Excellence Universities , University of Konstanz is consistently ranked among the global top 250 by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings . In 2016 it was ranked 7th globally by the Times Higher Education 150 under 50 rankings . It is often referred to as " small Harvard " by the ___MASK2___ media . Hesse or Hessia (, Hessian dialect : " Hesse " ) is a federal state (" Land ") of the Federal Republic of Germany , with just over six million inhabitants . The state capital is Wiesbaden ; the largest city is Frankfurt am Main . Until the formation of the ___MASK2___ Reich in 1871 , Hesse was an independent country ruled by a Grand Duke ( Grand Duchy of Hesse ). Due to divisions after World War II , the modern federal state does not cover the entire cultural region of Hesse which includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse ( Rheinhessen ) in the neighbouring state of Rhineland - Palatinate . Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations , methods , and implications of science . The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science , the reliability of scientific theories , and the ultimate purpose of science . This discipline overlaps with metaphysics , ontology , and epistemology , for example , when it explores the relationship between science and truth . Nuremberg is a city on the river Pegnitz and the Rhine  Main  Danube Canal in the ___MASK2___ state of Bavaria , in the administrative region of Middle Franconia , about north of Munich . It is the second - largest city in Bavaria ( after Munich ), and the largest in Franconia ( Franken ). The population as of February 2015 , is 517 , 498 , which makes it Germany ' s fourteenth - largest city . The urban area also includes Fürth , Erlangen and Schwabach with a total population of . The " European Metropolitan Area Nuremberg " has ca . 3 . 5 million inhabitants . Bavaria is a federal state of Germany . Located in the ___MASK2___ southeast with an area of 70 , 548 square kilometres ( 27 , 200 sq mi ), Bavaria is the largest ___MASK2___ state . Its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany , and , with 12 . 9 million inhabitants , it is Germany ' s second most populous state . Munich , Bavaria ' s capital and largest city , is the third largest city in Germany . Hamburg ( local pronunciation ; Low ___MASK2___ / Low Saxon : " Hamborg " ), officially " Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg " ( Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg ), is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union . It is the second smallest ___MASK2___ state by area . Its population is over 1 . 7 million people , and the wider Hamburg Metropolitan Region covers more than 5 . 1 million inhabitants . The city is situated on the river Elbe . Lake Constance ( ___MASK2___ : Bodensee ) is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps , and consists of three bodies of water : the " Obersee " (" upper lake "), the " Untersee " (" lower lake "), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine , called the " Seerhein ".