David Van Reybrouck appointed Philosopher Laureate of The Netherlands
The denomination has no official job description; the assignment may be filled as one sees fit. Yet all the Philosophers so far have something in common. They all possess the quality of placing news in a larger context in a felt and thoughtful manner. In this way they deepen the public debate and make philosophy attractive to a wide audience.
David Van Reybrouck: “Naturally, I felt extremely pleased and honored when I asked me to fulfill the position a few months ago. It is a unique position that was impressively filled by my predecessors. In these turbulent times, it is more necessary than ever to zoom out and think carefully about what is at stake.”
Van Reybrouck is an advocate of what he calls vérdenken. “In Dutch we have the words verspringen and vérspringen, but curiously only verdenken and not “vérdenken”--while we need the latter so much. To vérdenken is to look at the present from the distant future and from the distant past. Where did we come from and where do we want to go? It is also thinking out in space -- beyond geographical boundaries or social bubbles. Thinking is more than philosophy and philosophy is more than Western philosophy.
To face the vagaries of our time, we need all the wisdom humanity has ever produced: non-Western philosophies, but also spiritual, literary and artistic traditions, as well as scientific, collective and practical forms of thinking. Apparently, there is even something to be learned from the environment: see the many technological developments that already rely on the intelligence of nature.”
The honorary title Philosopher Laureate of The Netherlands (‘Denker der Nederlanden) is an initiative of the Stichting Maand van de Filosofie (Month of Philosophy Foundation) and has been awarded to a renowned thinker every two years since 2011.
President Marli Huijer explains, “The nomination of the new Philosopher Laureate is the result of a careful process in which we considered the contributions of various philosophers to the public debate. From a list of interesting philosophers, compiled by a diverse committee of experts from the philosophical field, the board came to the choice of appointing David Van Reybrouck. His undeniable efforts around topical issues and his far-reaching social commitment were decisive. We are convinced that his work will make a valuable contribution to philosophical reflection on the challenges of our time.”