Jaap Kruithof (

Berchem Berchem () is a southern district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (Dutch for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected Brussels to Antwerp for several centur ...

, 13 December 1929 -

Boechout Boechout () is a municipality of Belgium located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Boechout proper and . In 2021, Boechout had a total population of 13,526. The total area is 20.66 km². Boechout a ...

, 25 February 2009) was 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 language ...

philosopher and writer. His parents were

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 ...

Protestants. He took degrees in history, law and philosophy in Ghent, and in Paris. Then he earned a Ph.D. on

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...

ontology In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities ...

, ''with honours''. Since the 1960s he was, along with

Etienne Vermeersch Etienne Vermeersch (2 May 1934, Sint-Michiels, Bruges – 18 January 2019, Ghent) was a Belgian moral philosopher, skeptic, opinion maker and debater. He is one of the founding fathers of the abortion, euthanasia law, and the Law on Patients' ...

and

Leo Apostel Leo Apostel ( Antwerp, 4 September 1925 – Ghent, 10 August 1995) was a Belgian philosopher and professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. Apostel was an advocate of interdisciplinary research and the bridging of the gap ...

, one of the icons of the

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, whe ...

and the Flemish intelligentsia in general.Gent.be
/ref> He was also a musician (organist) and taught the sociology of music at the Royal Music Conservatory in Antwerp. Throughout his life, Kruithof was an unflinching debunker of capitalism; ideologically, he sympathised with revolutionary socialism, humanitarian movements and

ecocentrism Ecocentrism (; from Greek: οἶκος ''oikos'', "house" and κέντρον ''kentron'', "center") is a term used by environmental philosophers and ecologists to denote a nature-centered, as opposed to human-centered (i.e. anthropocentric), syst ...

Publications

*''Het uitgangspunt van Hegels ontologie'' (1958) *''Jeugd voor de muur'' (1962) (samen met Jos Van Ussel) *''De zingever'' (Boom, Meppel 1968) *''Op weg naar een Nobelprijs'' (De Clauwaert, 1973) *''Eticologie'' (Boom, Meppel 1973) *''Vrijheid en vervreemding : kritische opstellen over etiek en sociale wetenschappen'' ( EPO, 1984) *''Arbeid en lust I en II'' (EPO, 1984 en 1986) *''De mens aan de grens'' (EPO, 1985) *''Omgaan met de dingen : over het gedrag van de moderne westerling'' (Dedalus, 1991) *''Ingaan op de dingen : over het gedrag van de moderne westerling'' (Dedalus, 1992) *''Doorgaan met de dingen : over het gedrag van de moderne westerling'' (Dedalus, 1994) *''Een wereld zonder stuurman : gesprekken 1962-1995'' (Nijgh en Van Ditmar, 1995) *''Geen dier jankt zo ongenadig als de mens'' (Hadewijch, 1997) *''Het neoliberalisme'' (EPO, 2000) *''Het humanisme'' (EPO, 2001)

References

Flemish philosophers Flemish writers 1929 births 2009 deaths People from Berchem {{Belgium-writer-stub