Jean Bricmont (; born 12 April 1952) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experime ...

and

philosopher of science 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 ...

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

at the

Catholic University of Louvain 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 ...

(UCLouvain), he works on

renormalization group In theoretical physics, the term renormalization group (RG) refers to a formal apparatus that allows systematic investigation of the changes of a physical system as viewed at different scales. In particle physics, it reflects the changes in t ...

and nonlinear

differential equation In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, ...

s. Since 2004, He is a member of the Division of Sciences of the Royal Academy of Belgium. Bricmont is mostly known to the non-academic audience as a rationalist activist who partners with American intellectuals with similar views. He has notably criticized

postmodernist Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

views of science along with

Alan Sokal Alan David Sokal (; born January 24, 1955) is an American professor of mathematics at University College London and professor emeritus of physics at New York University. He works in statistical mechanics and combinatorics. He is a critic of postmo ...

, with whom he wrote ''

Fashionable Nonsense ''Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science'' (1998; UK: ''Intellectual Impostures''), first published in French in 1997 as french: Impostures intellectuelles, label=none, is a book by physicists Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont ...

'' (1997). He has also criticized imperialism and defended freedom of expression, adopting a position on the issue similar to that of

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

. Jean Bricmont was president of the

Association française pour l'information scientifique Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

from 2001 to 2006.

Books

* ''Impérialisme humanitaire'' (2005'')'' published in English as ''Humanitarian Imperialism,'' 2006 * Preface to ''L'Atlas alternatif'' – Frédéric Delorca (ed), Pantin, Temps des Cerises, 2006 * ''Raison contre pouvoir. Le pari de Pascal'' Jean Bricmont and

, 5 November 2009 * ''La République des censeurs'', ''L'Herne''. 2014. . * *

References

External links

* Profile at

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

(UCLouvain) *
Emeritus Professor Jean Bricmont
*

(archived version, before retirement) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bricmont, Jean 1952 births Living people Belgian physicists Université catholique de Louvain alumni Université catholique de Louvain faculty Critics of postmodernism Philosophers of science 21st-century Belgian philosophers Continental philosophers Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Free speech activists