Johan Karel de Vree (April 16, 1938 - May 28, 2017) was a Dutch

political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...

, and professor Theory of International Relations at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

,Prof.mr.dr. J.K. de Vree (1938 - 2017)
at Catalogus Professorum Utrecht University. Accessed 12.02.2021. known for his "scientists" approach to political science.Hand Daudt.
De wetenschap der politiek II
" in: Bart Tromp. ''De wetenschap der politiek.'' 2002. p.53-73.

Biography

De Vree started the

Geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

study in 1959 at the

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

. The next year in 1960 he moved to

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

, where he obtained his MA in political and social sciences in 1967. He continued his graduate study and obtained his PhD in 1972 under Hans Daudt with the thesis ''Political integration: the formation of theory and its problems.'' After his graduation in 1967 De Vree started his academic career as lecturer at the Europa Institute of the University of Amsterdam. In 1973 he was appointed Professor Theory of International Relations at the Utrecht University, where he retired in 1999. De Vree was na active member of the Dutch Political Science Association, where he was president from 1975 to 1983. He was also a member of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

and of the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...

. De Vree is particularly known for the comprehensive formal theory of human behavior, that he had built on throughout his career. He felt related to the theoretical physicists, who strived for a

theory of everything A theory of everything (TOE or TOE/ToE), final theory, ultimate theory, unified field theory or master theory is a hypothetical, singular, all-encompassing, coherent theoretical framework of physics that fully explains and links together all asp ...

. He is looking for the systems that underlay human behavior. This approach he thought would eventually lead to "a kind of socio-political weather forecast".

Selected publications

* De Vree, Johan K. ''Political integration: the formation of theory and its problems,'' PhD thesis University of Amsterdam, 1967. * De Vree, Johan K. ''Het stervensuur van Leviathan? Beschouwingen over de ontwikkeling van staat en internationale samenleving.'' Inaugural lecture Utrecht University, 1973. * De Vree, Johan K. ''Foundations of social and political processes: the dynamics of human behavior, politics and society.'' Bilthoven : Prime Press, 1982. * De Vree, Johan K. ''Order and disorder in the human universe: the foundations of behavioral and social science.'' 3 Volumes. Bilthoven : Prime Press, 1990. was published. ;Articles, a selection * De Vree, Johan K. "The behavioral function: An inquiry into the relation between behavior and utility." Theory and Decision 15.3 (1983): 231–245. * De Vree, Johan K., and Johan C. Dagevos. "The structure of action and interaction: The structural similarity of systems in social science." Journal of Mathematical Sociology 19.2 (1994): 91-127. * De Vree, Johan K. "A note on information, order, stability and adaptability." BioSystems 38.2-3 (1996): 221–227. ;About his work * Dagevos, J.C., ''Towards a model of social interaction : on the dynamics of science, power, and dependence.'' PhD thesis Utrecht University, Bilthoven : Prime Press, 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vree, Johan de 1938 births 2017 deaths Dutch political scientists University of Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam