![1939_Cornelia_de_Vogel_op_bezoek_bij_familie_in_Haarlem](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/1939_Cornelia_de_Vogel_op_bezoek_bij_familie_in_Haarlem.jpg)
Cornelia Johanna de Vogel (27 February 1905 – 7 May 1986) was a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
classicist,
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. She was a “distinguished Dutch
Plato scholar”, and a prolific author of
ancient philosophy
This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history ().
Overview
Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many culture ...
and
patristic theology
Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...
.
She was the professor of the history of classical and
medieval philosophy
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, ...
at the
state university of Utrecht (1947–74).
Life and education
Born on 27 February 1905 in
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Stadsfries dialects, Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Fri ...
, the
Frisian capital, Cornelia Johanna de Vogel was the daughter of the
pharmacist Cornelis Johannes de Vogel (1860 – 1926) and his wife Janna Jansje Theunisse (1871 – 1951).
After completing her early education at the Primary Girls School in
Hofplein
Hofplein is a major public town square in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The square lies on a crossing of the Weena, the Schiekade and the Coolsingel. In the center of the square a large fountain is situated.
Near the square lay the former Rotterd ...
, she continued secondary school education at a Municipal
Gymnasium from 1918 to 1924. In 1925 she enrolled at the University of Utrecht to study
classical languages
A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, where she came to know Bernard Jan Hendrik Ovink (BJH Ovink), Utrecht professor.
During her secondary school days, she showed interest on the works of BJH Ovink, particularly the book entitled ''Overview of Greek Philosophy'', of which she published the fourth edition in 1943. Her religious and intellectual life was influenced by the writings of BJH Ovink, and the
Protestant theologians
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers p ...
such as
Karl Barth and
Emil Brunner
Heinrich Emil Brunner (1889–1966) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Along with Karl Barth, he is commonly associated with neo-orthodoxy or the dialectical theology movement.
Biography
Brunner was born on 23 December 1889 in Winterthur, in the ...
.
In 1932 she obtained her master's degree in
classical languages
A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...
from the University of Utrecht. She also passed the doctoral examination in 1932, which conferred the title of ''
doctorandus'' and the right to present a thesis for the doctoral degree. She then travelled to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
to work on her thesis at the
École française d'Athènes
The French School at Athens (french: École française d’Athènes, EfA; el, Γαλλική Σχολή Αθηνών ''Gallikí Scholí Athinón'') is one of the seventeen foreign archaeological institutes operating in Athens, Greece.
History ...
. She wrote her doctoral thesis on ''A turning point in Plato's thinking: Historical-Philosophical Study''. On 1 May 1936, she received her doctorate
cum laude from the University of Utrecht.
She died in
Westenschouwen
Westenschouwen is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 21 km north of Middelburg Middelburg may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Europe
* Middelburg, Zeeland, t ...
,
Renesse
Renesse ( zea, Renisse) is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 28 km west of Hellevoetsluis.
Renesse is a popular tourist resort with zero-fare bus services in th ...
on 7 May 1986.
Career
![1936_Doctorsbul_CJ_de_Vogel_-_collect_(101387)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/1936_Doctorsbul_CJ_de_Vogel_-_collect_%28101387%29.png)
She started her professional career as a teacher. Between 1927 and 1929 she taught classical languages at the Christelijk Lyceum in
Harderwijk
Harderwijk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city of the Netherlands.
It is served by the Harderwijk railway station.
Its population centres are Harderwijk and Hierden.
Harderwijk is on the western boundary of the Veluwe. The south ...
. From 1938 to 1946 she worked as a private teacher of Greek and Latin in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
.
On 7 December 1946, she was appointed professor of classical and
medieval philosophy
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, ...
at the University of Utrecht. She later became professor of philosophy of classical antiquity and early Christian philosophy at the same university on 8 May 1968. She held this professorship until her retirement in 1974.
After her retirement, she moved to Renesse, on the
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
of
Schouwen-Duiveland
Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water).
The northside of the island has two fi ...
, where she had a relatively isolated existence.
She participated in number of international academic discussions, and delivered guest lectures in New York, Manila, Tokyo and Taipei.
Religion
![1925 Cornelia Johanna de Vogel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/1925_Cornelia_Johanna_de_Vogel.jpg)
Although she came from a liberal background, she showed interest in theosophy and Greek philosophy. She joined the
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
in 1927. She later developed interest in the faith of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. In 1944 she converted to the Roman Catholic Church.
During the 1970s and the early 1980s, she emerged as one of the intellectual spokespersons of the
conservative Catholics in the Netherlands.
Publications
Some of her publications include
* ''Living Stones'' (1931)
* ''Newman's thoughts on justification'' (1939)
* ''Ecclesia Catholica: Reasonable justification of a personal choice'' (1945)
* ''Greek Philosophy'' (in three volumes: 1950, 1953,1959)
* ''Pythagoras and early Pythagoreanism'' (1966)
* ''Rethinking Plato and Platonism''
* ''To the Catholics of the Netherlands'' (1973)
* ''The Foundation of Our Certainty: On the Problems of the Church Today, A contribution to real theological discussion'' (1977)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Cornelia Johanna de
1905 births
1986 deaths
Dutch women philosophers
20th-century Dutch philosophers
20th-century Dutch women writers
People from Leeuwarden
Utrecht University alumni
Utrecht University faculty
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism
20th-century Roman Catholics
Dutch Roman Catholics