Defining the science of stochastics

The contributions to this volume are revised and updated versions of lectures delivered at the Symposium „Defining the Science of Stochastics“, which took place at Schloss Zeilitzheim, Germany, in October 2000. The authors reflect on the history and nature of statistical science and propose to establish „Stochastics“ as an independent, mathematically based science, the subject of which is uncertainty generated by ignorance and randomness.