prof. dr. Herman Philipse

About Herman Philipse

Prof. dr. Herman Philipse took up a University Professorship in Philosophy at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, in September 2003. He does research in the fields of modern and contemporary philosophy. He was previously Professor of Philosophy at the University of Leyden (1985-2003), Assistant Professor in Philosophy at that university (1978-85), and Research Assistant at the Husserl Archives, University of Louvain, Belgium (1977-78). As a student, he read law at the University of Leyden, The Netherlands (Master’s 1973), and studied philosophy at the universities of Leiden, Oxford, Paris IV, and Cologne (Master’s Leiden 1974). He obtained his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Leyden (Husserl’s foundation of logic, 1983).

A successful scientist, Herman Philipse is very active in the social debate. He writes articles about theology, morality and general social issues. He has published more than 100 books. In 1995 he wrote ‘Atheist Manifesto’, in which he poses questions like: ‘Can moral norms be justified by addressing God’s wil?’ or ‘What proof is there of miracles and revelations?’. He points at false conclusions, that are the result of logical thinking about religions. Who believes in the God of one religion, has to reject the god(s) of other religions. The person who claims the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims worship the same God, get into big trouble if asked why this one God has revealed Himself in three different ways.

In 2004, a revised edition was published with an additional foreword by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and four new essays. After 9/11 Herman Philipse decided to get more involved in the public debate on religion, morality and politics. According to him intellectuals should take responsability. He is a visiting professor at Oxford University and available for lectures all over the world.