Esa Jouni Olavi Saarinen (born 27 July 1953 in

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; sv, Hyvinge, ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region, approximately north of the capital Helsinki. The city was chartered in 1960. The population of Hyvinkää is (). Its neighboring municipal ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is a Finnish philosopher who was a professor of

applied philosophy Applied philosophy (philosophy from Greek: φιλοσοφία, philosophia, 'love of wisdom') is a branch of philosophy that studies philosophical problems of practical concern. The topic covers a broad spectrum of issues in environment, medicine, ...

Aalto University Aalto University ( fi, Aalto-yliopisto; sv, Aalto-universitetet) is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the ...

and co-director of the Systems Intelligence Research Group.''Kuka kukin on 2003'', pp. 867–868. Helsinki: Otava, 2002. until his retirement in 2021. Saarinen completed his PhD degree in 1978 at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

, where he has since held docentship. His extrovert public persona – he became known as the “punk doctor” – was reflected in his lectures at the university, which drew increasingly large audiences until the late 1990s. After failing to get the position of full-time professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Helsinki, Saarinen resigned from his lecturer position. Soon afterwards he was appointed professor at Helsinki University of Technology, since then renamed Aalto University. Saarinen's philosophical interests have changed dramatically, from early writings in

formal logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premis ...

, to concerns with

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

and later to

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

philosophy. The year 1994 saw the publication of Saarinen's best-known non-academic work, Imagologies: Media Philosophy, written jointly with American philosopher

Mark C. Taylor Mark Taylor may refer to: Entertainment * Mark Taylor (animation director) (born 1961), creator of ''Rubbish, King of the Jumble'' * Mark Taylor (Canadian actor) (born 1977), Canadian television actor * Mark Taylor (drummer) (born 1962), English ...

. In addition to academic teaching, Saarinen has also continued his business as a coach for Finnish companies and organisations, promoting a doctrine of

self-actualization Self-actualization, in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, is the highest level of psychological development, where personal potential is fully realized after basic bodily and ego needs have been fulfilled. Self-actualization was coined by the organis ...

. Saarinen is married to Pipsa Pallasvesa and has two sons, Jerome and Oliver, born in 1989. One of Esa Saarinen's former students is the philosopher

Pekka Himanen Pekka Himanen (born 19 October 1973) is a Finnish philosopher. Professional career Pekka Himanen studied philosophy (and computer science as a minor) at the University of Helsinki, under professor Esa Saarinen. In 1994, with his thesis on the ...

. Esa Saarinen was stabbed with a knife by a student outside a lecture hall in March 2014. He survived without life-threatening injuries.Thursday's papers: Professor stabbing, icebreaker move and spring-like driving conditions.

Yleisradio Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

. March 6, 2014.

Articles

Philosophy for Managers
2008

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saarinen, Esa People from Hyvinkää 1953 births Living people Logicians Stabbing survivors 21st-century Finnish philosophers Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 3rd Class