Herman De Dijn

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Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae Herman De Dijn

Emeritus Professor, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Louvain)
Born 06/02/1943, Galmaarden (Belgium)
Belgian nationality

Address:

Institute of Philosophy, Kardinaal Mercierplein 2, B-3000 Leuven
Tel.: ++ 32 16 32 63 44 Fax: ++ 32 16 32 63 11
E-mail: herman.dedijn@hiw.kuleuven.be
Private: F. Verbiestlaan 10, B-3001 Leuven
Tel.: ++ 32.16.20 23 73

Diploma’s; postdoctoral research

Licentiate in Philosophy (1965), Catholic University of Leuven
Doctorate in Philosophy (1971), Catholic University of Leuven
Postdoctoral research, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge (U.K.): 1971-1973

Career

Mandates of the National (Belgian) Foundation of Scientific Research (1966-1973);
associate professor at the Catholic University of Leuven in 1973;
professor since 1977;
full professor (‘gewoon hoogleraar’) since 1979;
emeritus professor since 1 October 2008

Visiting professorships and fellowships

guest-professor 15 May – 11 June 1988: Kansai University (Osaka, Japan)
guest-professor February 1991: Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico)
guest-professor August 1997: University of Stellenbosch (South Africa)
visiting fellow January-March 2002: Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities – University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)
visiting fellow April-June 2002: St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge (United Kingdom)
visiting scholar April-June 2002: Philosophy Faculty, Cambridge (United Kingdom)
VLAC-fellow Flemish Academic Centre for Science and the Arts April-May & September- December 2005, Brussels (project ‘Actuality of the Enlightenment: the Moral Science of Emotions’)
Spinoza Chair spring semester 2006-2007: Philosophy Department, Univ of Amsterdam
Erasmus Lectureship Spring semester 2008-2009: Philosophy Department, Harvard University

Ongoing Research:

17th and 18th Century Philosophy, especially Benedict Spinoza and David Hume
The relation between ethics and philosophical anthropology; philosophy of contemporary culture

Responsibilities

1. inside the Catholic University of Leuven:

Vice-president for the Human Sciences, 1995-2000
Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Tijdschrift voor Filosofie 1990-2002; since then member of the Board
Chairman of the Center for Ethics (OCE) of the K.U.Leuven (until 1 October 2008)
Member Editorial Board Ethical Perspectives and Ethische Perspectieven

2. outside the university:

Member Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for the Sciences and the Arts (since 1997)
Member and Chairman of the Philosophy Committee of the Fonds Voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (F.W.O.) (1993-2003)
Member of the Philosophy Committee of the Fonds National de Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) (ended)
Chairman Visitation Committee Philosophy (1990) in the Netherlands
Member Visitation Committee Research in Philosophy (1994-95) in the Netherlands
Member Editorial Board Revue philosophique de Louvain; Wijsgerig Perspectief; Studia Spinozana
Member Board Foundation Frans Van Cauwelaert
Member Conseil Scientifique Institut Européen de Bio-éthique
Chairman International Visitation Committee of the Leiden Institute for the Study of Religion (October 2005)
Member Regieorgaan Geesteswetenschappen (2009-2010) in the Netherlands

Associations

International Philosophical Association “Het Spinozahuis” (Rijnsburg, The Netherlands) - (Chairman 1989-2002)
Wijsgerig Gezelschap te Leuven
Association des Amis de Spinoza (Paris)
The Hume Society

Honours

Nomination to the 2001 Belgian Francqui Chair for Philosophy at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve
Nomination to the 2001-2002 Triest-Guislain Chair (Antwerp)
Nomination to the second Edmund Burke-lecture of the Edmund Burke Foundation, The Hague 23 October 2002
Nomination to the Schuman Lecture 2003, Maastricht 8 May 2003
Nomination Spinoza Chair (Spinozaleerstoel) Second Semester 2006-2007 University of Amsterdam
Erasmus Lectureship Spring 2009 Harvard University

International congresses and lectures (since 1985)

invited to: International Spinoza-conference in Chicago (Univ. of Illinois), 12-17 September 1985; lecture on “Wisdom and theoretical knowledge in Spinoza”;
invited to: The First International Jerusalem Spinoza Conference in Jerusalem, 1-6 April 1987; lecture on “Metaphysics as Ethics”;
invited to: XIe Congrès de l’association des professeurs de philosophie at Aix-en-Provence, 9 October-1 November 1988; lecture on “Philosophy as Conversation”;
invited to: International Symposium “Spinoza und Leibniz: Konfrontation zweier Philosophien am Beginn der Neuzeit” in Hannover, 3-7 September 1989; lecture on “Naturalism, Freedom and Ethics”;
Summercourse “Internationale School voor Wijsbegeerte” at Leusden (NL), 23-27 July 1990, on: A. Burms en H. De Dijn, De rationaliteit en haar grenzen, (Leuven Univ. Pers, 1990, 3e druk);
invited to: Congreso Internacional de Filosofia, La Etica de Spinoza. Fundamentos y significado, at Almagro/Ciudad Real, 24-27 October 1990; lecture on “Ethique et thérapie des affects”;
invited for “Hauptvortrag” to: Internationale Wissenschaftliche Tagung Freiheit und Notwendigkeit. Die Gegenwart Spinozas im ethischen und politischen Diskurs der Neuzeit, at Leipzig, 24-26 September 1992. Title of lecture: “Spinoza’s Critique of Antropocentrism and Universal Values”;
invited to: Third International Jerusalem Spinoza Conference in Jerusalem 14-20 April 1993; lecture on “Ethics IV: The Ladder, not the Top”;
invited to: Christian Universities and European Culture Conference in Antwerp 11 November 1993; lecture on “Tolerance, loyalty to values and respect for the law”;
invited for key-lecture: Jubileumcongres Radboudstichting in Amsterdam 25-26 November 1994; lecture on “The Relevance of Metaphysics”;
invited to: Colloque international “Enrico Castelli” in Rome 4-7 January 1996; lecture on “Broad Ethics and Broad Religion”;
invited to: Symposium “Bedenkingen voorbij het Fin de Siècle: Hoe overleven we de vrijheid?” in Amsterdam 16 February 1996; lecture on “The end of History?”;
invited to: V. World Congress of Christian Philosophy in Lublin (Poland) 20-25 August 1996; lecture on “Two concepts of freedom and responsibility”;
president of Centennial Congress ‘Honderd jaar Spinoza in Nederland en België’ in Amsterdam 15-17 May 1997; lectures on “Honderd jaar Spinozastudie in Nederland en België” and “Honderd jaar Vereniging Het Spinozahuis”;
invited for lectures at University of Stellenbosch (South-Africa) 20-21 August 1997 on “The University and the Human Sciences” and “Freedom in Contemporary Culture”; same lectures in Pretoria, University of Pretoria (South-Africa) on 28-29 August 1997;
invited to: Colloque International Enrico Castelli in Rome 4-7 January 1998; lecture on “Incarnation and Values”;
invited to: series of lectures on Philosophy in the Low Countries in Beijing (Department of Philosophy of Beijing University) 8-18 April 1998; lectures on “Spinoza’s Introduction to Philosophy” and “Philosophy in the Low Countries”;
invited to: Presynodal Symposium of the Pontificium Consilium de Cultura in Rome 10-14 January 1999; lecture on “The Future of the University”;
invited to: Congress on The Spirit of Technology in Delft (Technical University) 11 March 1999; lecture on “Moral Responsibility and Innovation”;
invited to: Fifth International Jerusalem Spinoza Conference in Jerusalem 16-20 June 1999; lecture on “Salvation in the TTP and in the Ethics”;
invited to: Symposium on ‘Habilitation’ in Tübingen 9 July 1999; lecture on “Recruitment and training of researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral level in Flanders”;

president of section of Congress “Religion et politique: l’enjeu de la paix chez Spinoza” in Maison Descartes – Amsterdam 19-20 November 1999;
invited to: 6.Internationaler Kongress der Spinoza Gesellschaft in Zürich 5-7 October 2000; lecture on “Theory and practice and the practice of theory.”
invited to: International Conference on Cultural Identity and Religion (Part II) in Antwerp 26-27 September 2002; lecture on “The Law is not the Catechism. Religion, Moral Pluralism and the Law”;
invited to: International Conference on New Technologies in Health Care in Brussels 18-19 October 2002; lecture on “New Technologies in Health Care: A Philosophical-Ethical approach”;
invited for keynote lecture to Conference 2003 of the Council on Christian Approaches to Defence and Disarmament (CCADD) in Bellem (Belgium) 23 August 2003: “A very short overview of kinds of threat”;
invited for keynote lecture to International Conference of the European Association for Communication and Health in Brugge 16 September 2004: “Care, Communication and Conversation”;
invited to: Symposium Stichting Koninklijk Paleis van Amsterdam (hostess Queen Beatrix) on 5 November 2004; lecture on “Spinoza on Knowledge and Religion”;
invited to: conference on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Faculty of Philosophy – Tilburg University on 29 April 2005, lecture on “Spinoza, Wisdom and Academic Education”;
co-organisor of VLAC-contactforum “The Concept of Love in Modern Philosophy: Spinoza to Kant” in Brussels, 13-14 May 2005; in the palace of the Royal Academy;
invited to: International Conference on “Religious Emotions; Historical and Contemporary Perspectives” in Antwerp on 20 September 2005; lecture on “Spinoza, Religion and Emotional Integration”;
co-organiser of second VLAC-contactforum “Moral Theories of Emotions and Passions. The Concept of Love in Modern Philosophy” in Brussels, 25-26 November 2005 in the Palace of the Royal Academy;
(as holder of the Spinoza Chair) Spinoza Lecture on “Spinoza over waarheid, godsdienst en heil” in Amsterdam, 18 April 2007;
at the International Conference ‘Spinoza and the Sciences’ (in the context of the Spinoza Chair 2007) in Amsterdam (University of Amsterdam) on 8 June 2007; lecture on “Spinoza’s Theory of the Emotions”;
invited to: International Congress ‘Loci Sacri’, organised by KADOC in Leuven on 21 September 2007; lecture on “Meaning Incarnation and Sacred Places”;
invited to Congres Konferentie Nederlandse Religieuzen in Nijmegen on 3 October 2007; lecture on “Contemplatie en actie”;
invited to: INTAMS-colloquium ‘What Future for Marriage in Postmodern Times?’ in Leuven on 7 March 2008; lecture on “How and Why Marriage Matters in Postmodern Times”;
invited to: Colloquium ‘Martha Nussbaum on Religion in Public Spaces’ – Overlegcentrum Ethiek K.U.Leuven on 14 March 2008; lecture on “Nussbaum on Religious Diversity and the Law”;
invited to international Workshop on Spinoza’s Tractatus theologico-politicus in Leiden (Faculty of Philosophy) on 20 May 2008; lecture on “Religious Emotions in Spinoza”;
(as holder of the Erasmus Lectureship) Harvard University (Department of Philosophy) on 8 April 2009; lecture on “Spinoza and Hume on Religion as a Natural Phenomenon”;
(as holder of Erasmus Lectureship), Harvard University (Divinity School) on 15 April 2009; lecture on “Spinoza on Revealed Religion”;
invited for keynote lecture to VISOR-conference on ‘Democracy, Culture and Religion’ in Amsterdom (VU) on 25 September 2009; lecture on “Which Democracy, Which Religion?”;
invited to International Conference ‘Galileo and Spinoza’ in Sorbonne/Paris I on 12 December 2009; lecture on “Natura naturans & Natura naturata in Spinoza”;
guestspeaker for the International Society Het Spinozahuis in Rijsburg (Nl.) on 8 May 2010; lecture on: “De affecten en het ethische leven”;
guestspeaker for Soeterbeeck Programma (Radboud University) in Nijmegen on 1 June 2010; lecture on “Lijstjes, targets en evaluaties. Het beheersingsyndroom in zorg en onderwijs”;
guestspeaker at Seminar Soeterbeeck Programma (Radboud University) in Nijmegen on 2 June 2010; lecture on “Zin en onzin van de academische filosofie”;
keynote lecture at the 37th International Hume Conference in Antwerp on "Spinoza and Hume on Religion as a Natural Phenomenon";

Publications (for full list, see this website under ‘Publications’)

More than 50 articles mainly on Spinoza (and Hume) in different national and international journals and proceedings
National publications mainly on Contemporary Philosophy of Culture and on Bio-ethical Problems.

Books:

(together with Arnold Burms) De rationaliteit en haar grenzen. Leuven, Universitaire Pers Leuven; Assen, Van Gorcum, 1999, 5th ed., VII-105 p. (new reprint in 2005)
Hoe overleven we de vrijheid? Kapellen, Pelckmans / Kampen, Kok Agora, 1997, 4th ed., 144 p.(out of print)
Kan kennis troosten? Kapellen, Pelckmans / Kampen, Kok Agora, 1994, 152 p. (out of print)
Spinoza, The Way to Wisdom. West Lafayette (Ind.), Purdue University Press, 1996, 292 p.
De uitgelezen Spinoza. Ingeleid en toegelicht door Herman De Dijn. Amsterdam, Boom / Tielt Lannoo, 1999, 328 p.(out of print)
De herontdekking van de ziel. Voor een volwaardige kwaliteitszorg. (Thijmessay 1999) Nijmegen, Valkhof Pers, 1999, 86 p.
Geluksmachines in context. Filosofische essays. Kapellen, Pelckmans, 2001, 208 p.
De herontdekking van de ziel. Voor een volwaardige kwaliteitszorg. Kapellen, Pelckmans / Kampen, Klement, 2002, 68 p.(reprint).
Taboes, monsters en loterijen. Ethiek in de laat-moderne tijd. Kapellen, Pelckmans / Kampen, Klement, 2003, 160 p.
Modernité et Tradition. Leuven, Peeters / Paris, Vrin, 2004, 278 p.
(together with Jaak Billiet, e. a.) (eds.), Bibliometrie in de Humane Wetenschappen (Standpunten nr. 3). Brussel, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, 2004, 38 p.
Religie in de 21ste eeuw. Kleine handleiding voor voor- en tegenstanders. Kapellen, Pelckmans–Kampen, Klement, 2006 (reprint 2007), 160p.
Grensovergangen: Over geesteswetenschap, universitair beleid en samenleving. Leuven, Peeters, 2008, 136p.
Spinoza : de doornen en de roos. Kapellen, Pelckmans – Kampen, Klement, 2009, 196 p. reprint 2010.


© 2010 - Herman De Dijn - p/a HIW, Kardinaal Mercierplein 2 - 3000 Leuven - Phone +32(0)16.326344