In April 2025, David Van Reybrouck was named Philosopher Laureate for the Netherlands and Flanders. This honorary title (Denker der Nederlanden) is awarded every two years to a renowned philosopher, thinker, or public intellectual to enrich societal debate in the Netherlands and Flanders through essays, opinion pieces, lectures, or interviews.

David embraced this role under the theme of vérdenken, a Dutch neologism created to emphasize the importance of thinking afar. “Vérdenken means looking at the present from the perspective of the distant future and the distant past. Where do we come from, and where do we want to go? It is also vérdenken in space – beyond geographical borders or social bubbles. Thinking is more than philosophy, and philosophy is more than Western philosophy."

He adds: "To face the unpredictability of our times, we need all the wisdom that humanity has ever produced, including non-Western philosophies, but also spiritual, literary, and artistic traditions, alongside scientific, collective, and practical forms of thought. It even seems that we can learn from our environment itself: many technological innovations are already inspired by nature’s intelligence."

The honorary title of Philosopher Laureate is an initiative of the Maand van de Filosofie Foundation. His essay The World and the Earth. How Do We Keep It Safe? was published following his appointment as Philosopher Laureate.