Philosophical Thought Experiments
Sebastien Valkenberg is a regular columnist for Het Financieele Dagblad. He also writes opinion pieces and essays, among others for EW and De Telegraaf. His articles address current events, but they have a unique tone as he approaches news topics from a philosophical perspective.
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Sebastien Valkenberg is a regular columnist for Het Financieele Dagblad. He also writes opinion pieces and essays, among others for EW and De Telegraaf. His articles address current events, but they have a unique tone as he approaches news topics from a philosophical perspective. However, an accessible argument is not enough; it must be engaging and thought-provoking.
‘Bringing knowledge to the world.’ How valuable that is, Valkenberg discovered during his studies in Philosophy (and Dutch Language and Culture) at the Vrije Universiteit. The material was incredibly fascinating, but what can you do with it? During his internship at Filosofie Magazine, the only philosophical magazine for the public in the Netherlands, he learned to write effectively, without footnotes, and with his own opinion. He has continued to do so. By now, he has written for almost all major publications.
After writing came the spoken word. Several clients asked Valkenberg to contribute during various events. This led to the two-day course Leading with World Views, intended for executives in the public sector, organized for a well-known consulting firm. For the law firm Van Doorne, he provided a thought-provoking contribution during a seminar on administrative law. He led a panel discussion on innovation for the automation company Total Productivity, part of the festive reopening of the company premises.
During his lectures, Valkenberg draws on a versatile body of work. In 2006, he debuted with The Laboratory in Your Head, about philosophical thought experiments. While this title narrowly missed the Socrates Award, Op Denkles (2015) was awarded a few years later with the Theodor Award. This prize is awarded to ‘an exceptional artist, a remarkable scientist, or a moral troublemaker.’ In Policor in the Polder (2021), he analyzes the ‘woke’ transformation of Dutch universities. At the end of 2024, his latest book In the Footsteps of Progress will be released. Jort Kelder on the back cover: ‘Sebastien Valkenberg takes us on a hallucinatory grand tour of the solutions for our time.’
For our future prosperity, we must continue to innovate. Fortunately, there are plenty of bright minds. Unfortunately, they are not given enough space to develop their talents. Innovation is allowed, but only if it is 100 percent safe. Impossible, explains Sebastien in a contrarian lecture. Innovating involves risks. Do you know what is truly risky? Not taking risks anymore, resulting in stagnation. A lecture for doers and daredevils who want to lead the Netherlands into the 21st century.
Feeling gloomy when you open the newspaper or turn on the TV? Forget the pessimistic mood in the media. Companies are coming up with fantastic things and smart solutions for the problems of our time – but only a few are aware of it. Using concrete examples, from exoskeletons to cultured meat and everything in between, Sebastien shows that we can be hopeful about the future. The audience leaves the room uplifted and a bit proud of Dutch enterprise.
Disturbing reports on social media, images whose authenticity is questionable… We are bombarded with information from all sides. What is true? Try distinguishing nonsense in this chaos. For the desperate news consumer, Sebastien offers an educational crash course in critical thinking. Philosophy provides a toolbox full of thinking tools, and he teaches his audience how to use these tools. A lifeline in times of fake news and disinformation.
What if? Historians are cautious about asking that question because it becomes speculative. Fortunately, there is philosophy, which works with hypothetical scenarios, gladly even. How would we behave if we were invisible? What would it do to our happiness if there were a machine that fulfilled all our wishes? To answer these kinds of questions, philosophers devise thought experiments, and Sebastien takes his audience into the lab – the laboratory in your mind. The audience learns about themselves through tricky dilemmas.
Ah yes, the past… the good old days, when happiness was commonplace, people looked out for each other, and there was no choice stress. Forget it, those times weren’t that good. Nostalgia is a dangerous pastime because the present is sacrificed for an idealised past. And if we don’t realise how good we have it, we start seeing achievements as givens, while we should cherish them. Using striking images, real testimonies, and surprising datasets, Sebastien brings history to life – the real history. What turns out? Life in the past was harsh, short, and unforgiving. The good old days are now, the audience realises afterwards.
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