Department of Philosophy

The department of Philosophy does not have its own course or final specialisation but participates in all of the faculty's courses. The curriculum's philosophical input is mainly thematically oriented: teaching and research is intended to contribute to conceptual clarification and normative reflection on technological, social, and cultural problems.

The philosophical expertise of the department does not extend to all areas of philosophy. Instead, the emphasis is on three specialist areas or points of special interest relevant to the various Bachelor and Master programmes:

• philosophy of technology, particularly the ethics and politics of new and emerging technologies
• the philosophy of art and culture, with an important focus on artistic research
• political and social philosophy, with a special interest in political culture

Research

Problems associated with technology, society, and modern culture are studied from the perspective of philosophy. Most philosophers in the department are members of the Netherlands Graduate School of Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC). Examples of research themes are:

• the mutual shaping of technology, morality, and politics
• democracy in smart cities
• disruptive innovation
• the use of Big Data in healthcare
• good care for people with dementia
• the lasting influence of romanticism
• the ethics of BioArt
• modern roles for classical music
• the role of emotions, like resentment, in politics