Ruben Buys

The work of Arnout Geulincx (1624-1669), a Flemish Cartesian that developed a highly curious 'parallelistic' view on the universe, shows striking prima facie resemblances to Stoicism. Should we label Geulincx a reinventor of Stoic tenets, albeit within a strict Cartesian theoretical ...

Het mag als ironie van de geschiedenis gelden dat de man die deze woorden in 1929 met extatische zelfverzekerdheid publiceerde, nu volledig in de vergetelheid is geraakt. Zijn publicaties zijn slechts met moeite te vinden en ook voor het verkrijgen van enig beeld op zijn leven moet men over flink wat wilskracht beschikken. Abraham van Stolk Czn. werd geboren in 1874 te Rotterdam en stierf daar ook, bijna tachtig jaar later (1951). Als telg van de bekende Van Stolk-dynastie was hij actief in de meelfabricage; een branche die hij zelfs een innovatie schonk door als eerste de zogenaamde vlakmaalderij via walsen in plaats van via molenstenen te bewerkstelligen. Maar Van Stolks hart lag elders: niet gestoord door een gebrek aan (wetenschappelijke) opleiding verdiepte hij zich in tal van onderwerpen, waarvan wijsbegeerte en (natuur)wetenschap wel de overkoepelende thema’s zijn. Vanuit zijn woonhuis aan de Hoflaan in het statige Rotterdamse Kralingen deed Van Stolk zijn gedachten uitgaan v...

Headline: Historical evidence shows strong interaction between philosophy during the late Middle Ages and Early Modernity on the one hand and the emancipation of common man and the rise of popular culture in Western Europe on the other. My aim is to shed light on the interaction between philosophy and culture from a historical point of view. I hope to show that philosophical ideas played an important role in one of the greatest shifts in Western civilization – the downfall of the traditional classes of nobles and clergymen and the rise of ‘layman’ culture during the late Middle Ages and Early Modernity. I will try to do so by considering the nature and function of vernacular philosophy in the Netherlands between 1280 and 1600. It is in this unique and highly urbanized area that some important features of popular culture and modern Western citizenship arise, such as freedom of conscience, toleration, pragmatism, and social mobility. In this process, philosophical texts in the vernacu...

In this paper, held at the British Society for the History of Philosophy conference on “Early Modern Philosophy in Britain and the Netherlands 1500 – 1800”, I hope to show that philosophical ideas played an important role in one of the greatest shifts in Western civilization – the downfall of the traditional classes of nobles and clergymen and the rise of ‘layman’ culture during the late Middle Ages and Early Modernity. I will try to do so by considering the nature and function of vernacular philosophy in the Low Countries between 1280 and 1600. It is in this highly urbanized area that some important features of popular culture and modern Western citizenship arise, such as freedom of conscience, toleration, pragmatism, and social mobility. In this process, philosophical texts in the vernacular are not merely a reflection of the common man’s world and life experience. Instead, they are clearly constructed for the moral education of people and the creation of responsible and self-cons...

The work of Arnout Geulincx (1624-1669), a Flemish Cartesian that developed a highly curious 'parallelistic' view on the universe, shows striking prima facie resemblances to Stoicism. Should we label Geulincx a reinventor of Stoic tenets, albeit within a strict Cartesian theoretical ...

Eine eigentümliche Empfindung, als erster seit Jahrtausenden in Menschengestalt sich wieder Gott zu wissen, in einer Welt, die nur noch Gleiche kennt! In Anbetracht des für mich so wenig beneidenswerten Zeitalters, in das diese unzeitsgemäße Zeitbegebenheit gefallen ist, will ...