Innovation has become a leading slogan for world economies, politicians and science policy-makers alike. It is the driving force of Western consumer societies, which have come to expect the new to be replaced by the newest. However, in contrast to mere fads and fashions, the consequences of relentless innovation are real. They manifest themselves in changes in lifestyle, in the ways societies function and in profound changes in outlook and perception. This paper will ask how innovation became so central and which mechanisms sustain it in science and technology, art and individual life. One consequence to be further explored is the relative loss in importance of the individual creative act, with implications on how we view creativity, knowledge production and even the concept of the individual. Another question to be raised is that of the multiplicity of the new: despite the seeming diversity and multiplicity of option, is there also convergence or a process of synchronization at work?

The ethical justification, not the juridic legitimacy of trading in art and cultural property is explored. The reflection is limited to matters of principle, the major aim being to erect a normative basis providing criteria and arguments for the debate concerning our dealing with cultural property. The terms of cultural property or cultural witness are explained. Cultural goods are considered expressions of human dignity. Accordingly, their use as a mere means contradicts the ethical responsibility of rational beings, whereas preservation and exchange of cultural goods become an ethical obligation. The traditional distinction between persons and things appears not appropriate for deciding the particular status of cultural goods, cultural property being an indispensable precondition of dignified human existence. It ought to be handed down to future generations. Restitution of cultural property is a further, though not absolute obligation. Ownership rights and the freedom to conduct trade and business do not automatically outweigh it. The buyer's claim to good faith will not necessarily protect him against the demand of restitution. With all this, the normative frame of the 1970 UNESCO Convention for preventing illicit trading in cultural property can be reconstructed: The ultimate goal of respectfully dealing with cultural property is the individual in his or her dignity as a human being, and his or her responsibility to society. Since the collective is a precondition of individual existence, it must be allowed to maintain and strengthen its identity. Cultural property is essential to that end. The respect of human dignity is thus the source of the obligation to respect cultural property.

Against the background of over a hundred years, during which national farming lobbies became ever more resilient, this article examines the processes leading to the creation of the European Union's common agricultural policy. It demonstrates how, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the agricultural issue acquired an international dimension. It argues further, that this coincided with an increasing penetration of governments by the farming lobby. Finally, it describes the protectionist factors that determined the form of the Rome Treaty's articles on agriculture and the forces that ensured their implementation.

Memories are stored in the brain in the form of changes in synaptic connectivity brought about through a cascade of molecular processes. Transient synaptic changes result in alterations in gene expression and, ultimately, the synthesis of a family of cell adhesion molecules which are responsible for holding the synapse in a new configuration. However, memory remains a dynamic property of the brain system as a whole, rather than ‘residing’ in any particular small region.

The history of the modern world has been dominated by two major events: the industrial revolution and the expansion of Europe. These two processes were interrelated. Their combination made it possible for Europe and, eventually, for the West to dominate the world. Science and technology played a major role in this. The relations between these processes are discussed in this paper.