- Leo Apostel
Leo Apostel (Antwerp,
4 September 1925 -Ghent ,10 August 1995 ) was aBelgian philosopher and professor at theVrije Universiteit Brussel and theUniversiteit Gent . Apostel was an advocate of interdisciplinary research and the bridging of the gap betweenexact science andhumanities .Biography
Leo Apostel was born Antwerp in 1925. After the second World War he studied
philosophy at theULB inBrussels withphilosopher of law and logicianChaïm Perelman . He got his M.A. at theULB inBrussels in October 1948 with the thesis "Questions sur l'Introspection". For another year he stayed here working as an assistant of Perelman.In 1950-1951 Apostel is a CRB fellow at the
University of Chicago withRudolf Carnap and withCarl Gustav Hempel atYale University . He promoted at theULB in March 1953 with the dissertation "La Loi et les Causes". In 1955 he went toGeneva Switzerland to study a work withJean Piaget at the Centre International d'Epistémologie Génétique. Those experiences would influence the rest of his life. [ [http://www.vub.ac.be/vlaamsestudenteninbrussel/personen/leoapostel.html Leo Apostel (1925 - 1995)] , Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2006. (in Dutch)]From 1955 Apostel lectured
logic andphilosophy of science at theGhent University and theULB for three years. In 1958-1959 he is visiting professor at thePennsylvania State University . From 1960 to 1979 he was a professor at theGhent University .Leo Apostel was awarded the Solvay award for human sciences in 1985 and the
Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord in 1986. The transdisciplinary research departmentCenter Leo Apostel (CLEA) at theVrije Universiteit Brussel was named after him.Work
Apostel was an advocate of interdisciplinary research and the bridging of the gap between
exact science andhumanities .In some of his so-called "natural philosophy" he worked in his beliefs as freemason. He wrote two books about it: "Freemasonry: A Philosophical Essay" in 1985, and "Atheïstische spiritualiteit" in 1998.
His ideas about atheistic religiosity are widely acknowledged.
Origins
In his book "Oorsprong" (Origin) from 2000 Apostel gives an introduction of a
metaphysics about the beginning ofman ,life and theuniverse . This work is part of his project to develop an own scientific metaphysics. The basic for this is the contemporaryphilosophy of science and the existing sciences and humanities from physics, astrophysics, biology, geology to antropology. In this book he first outlines the term metaphysics, then presents an ontology, which results in an own consistentworld view . [ [http://www.vubpress.be/vubpress_shop/book_info.php?cPath=5&books_id=326&osCsid=069cd413c4848addb1034d48118b15ea Oorsprong: Inleiding tot een metyafysica van het ontstaan van mens, leven en heelal] by Leo Apsotel, retrieved October 2007.]Literature
Apostel wrote about 20 books and 100 articles in Dutch, French and English. His books:
* Matière et Forme
* Communication et Action,
* Logique et Dialectique,
* The Problem of African Philosophy,
* Afbraak en Opbouw,
* De Gebroken Orde,
* Waarde en Zin van de Cultuurwetenschappen in de 20e eeuw.
* 1985, "Freemasonry: A Philosophical Essay"
* 1998, "Atheïstische spiritualiteit"About Leo Apostel
* Ingrid Van Dooren and Leo Apostel, "The Philosophy of Leo Apostel: A life history Communication and Cognition", 1989.
References
See also
*
Center Leo Apostel for Interdisciplinary Studies
*World view External links
* [http://logica.rug.ac.be/ Leo Apostel] Official website,
Ghent University .
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