Philosophical methods

Prof. dr. Hub Zwart (1960) studied philosophy and psychology at Radboud University Nijmegen and defended his thesis in 1993 (cum laude). In 2000 he became full Professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Science RU Nijmegen. In 2018 he was appointed as Dean of Erasmus School of Philosophy (Erasmus University Rotterdam). He is editor-in-chief of the Library for Ethics and Applied Philosophy (Springer). His research develops a philosophical (dialectical) assessment of contemporary technoscience. Special attention is devoted to the dialectical relationship between science and genres of the imagination (drama, poetry, cinema, novels, music) He published 20 books (7 in English), 150 international peer-reviewed articles as first or single author and presented more than 200 international academic lectures, most of them invited. His open-access monograph entitled Continental Philosophy of Technoscience has just been published (Springer; 2021).

Dr. Maren Wehrle is assistant professor in practical philosophy at Erasmus School of Philosophy. Maren Wehrle, obtained a Master degree in Philosophy, German Literature and Historical Anthropology at the University of Freiburg, Germany (2006). In 2011 she received a doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Freiburg with a dissertation entitled ‘Horizonte der Aufmerksamkeit. Entwurf einer dynamischen Konzeption der Aufmerksamkeit aus phänomenologischer und kognitionspsychologischer Sicht‘. From 2012 until 2017 she worked as Post-Doctoral Researcher and Lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy (Center of Phenomenoloigcal and Continental Philosophy: Husserl Archives) of KU Leuven, Belgium. Her areas of specializations are Phenomenology, Philosophical and Historical Anthropology, Feminist Philosophy and Cognitive Psychology. 

Prof. dr. Han van Ruler is Professor of Intellectual History and Vice-Dean of Erasmus School of Philosophy (ESPhil) at Erasmus University Rotterdam. In 2019, he was awarded an NWO 'Open Competition' Research Grant for the project Decoding Descartes. Formerly, Han van Ruler acted as President of the Dutch National ‘Philosophy Month’ Foundation (Stichting Maand van de Filosofie; 2014-2019), as Scientific Director of the Dutch Research School of Philosophy OZSW (2014-2018), as President of the OZSW History of Philosophy Section (2014-2018), as President of the Dutch National Philosophy Olympiad NFO (2012-2017) and as Co-organiser of the 25th International Philosophy Olympiad, Rotterdam, 25-28 May 2017. Since 2011, he is General Editor of the prestigious book series Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History (BSIH) – founded by Arjo Vanderjagt in 1987.

Prof. dr. Ruud Welten is Professor of Philosophy at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Associate Professor at Tilburg University. He mainly publishes on French existentialist philosophy. Welten wrote several books and articles – nationally and internationally – including Meaningful Violence. Sartre, Camus, Simone de Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty.

Dr. Tim De Mey (1973) is Lecturer in Philosophy at Erasmus School of Philosophy and has been Guest Professor in Groningen, Helsinki, Turku and Ghent. He has published on abduction, colours, humour, scepticism, scientific discovery and thought experiments. The focus of his research is on the role of imagination and creativity in knowledge in general, and in science in particular. Because of his activities in the Community for Learning and Innovation, resulting hitherto in three MOOCs and still counting.