Adriaan Theodoor Basilius (Ad) Peperzak (born 3 July 1929) is a Dutch educator, editor and author.

Biography

Peperzak was born on the island of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

(Indonesia) as a Dutch citizen. He studied philosophy at the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery schools in

Venray Venray or Venraij (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the Netherlands. The municipality of Venray consists of 14 towns over an area of , with 43,494 inhabitants as of July 2016 ...

, and theology in La Verna and

Weert Weert (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and city in the southeastern Netherlands located in the western part of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. It lies on the Eindhoven–Maas ...

(in the Netherlands). He obtained a licentiate in philosophy at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the

Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

Louvain Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

(Belgium) and a Ph.D. in the Humanities at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

( Sorbonne) in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His Ph.D. dissertation ''Le jeune Hegel et la vision morale du monde'' (director: Paul Ricoeur), was published in 1960 and republished in 1969.

Work

Peperzak's research in the

history of philosophy The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lor ...

has focused on

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

(six books and numerous articles) and

Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (born Emanuelis Levinas ; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the rel ...

(two books and three others edited). He also published on

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, Scholasticism, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General ( ...

, Descartes,

Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, and language. In April ...

, and Ricoeur, and on thematic questions in

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

metaphilosophy Metaphilosophy, sometimes called the philosophy of philosophy, is "the investigation of the nature of philosophy". Its subject matter includes the aims of philosophy, the boundaries of philosophy, and its methods. Thus, while philosophy character ...

, and the

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...

. He is a member of the board of editors for

Fordham University Press The Fordham University Press is a publishing house, a division of Fordham University, that publishes primarily in the humanities and the social sciences. Fordham University Press was established in 1907 and is headquartered at the university's Li ...

series ''Perspectives in Continental Philosophy''. He is Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Philosophy at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

. Before, he was a professor at the Radboud University of Nijmegen (Department of Metaphysics & Epistemology), and at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

(History of Modern Philosophy) for several years.

Bibliography

* ''Le jeune Hegel et la vision morale du monde'' (1960, 1969) * ''Der heutige Mensch und die Heilsfrage'' (1972) * ''Philosophy and Politics: A Commentary on the Preface to Hegel's Philosophy of Right'' (1987) * ''Selbsterkenntnis des Absoluten: Grundlinien der Hegelschen Philosophie des Geistes. Spekulation und Erfahrung, Texte und Untersuchungen zum Deutschen Idealismus'' (1987) * ''Hegels praktische Philosophie: Ein Kommentar zur enzyklopädischen Darstellung der menschlichen Freiheit und ihre objektiven Verwirklichung'' (1991) * ''To the Other: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas'' (1993) * ''Beyond: The Philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas'' (1997) * ''Before Ethics'' (1997) * ''Reason In Faith: On The Relevance Of Christian Spirituality For Philosophy'' (1997) * ''Platonic Transformations'' (1997) * ''Modern Freedom: Hegel's Legal, Moral, and Political Philosophy'' (2001) * ''The Quest for Meaning: Friends of Wisdom, from Plato to Levinas'' (2003) * ''Elements of Ethics'' (2003) * ''Philosophy between Faith and Theology: Addresses to Catholic Intellectuals'' (2005) * ''Thinking: From Solitude to Dialogue and Contemplation'' (2006) * ''Aanspraak en Bezinning'' (2007)

References

Curriculum Vitae
Living people 20th-century Dutch philosophers 21st-century Dutch philosophers Hegelian philosophers Phenomenologists Philosophy academics KU Leuven alumni University of Paris alumni Academic staff of Radboud University Nijmegen Academic staff of Utrecht University Loyola University Chicago faculty People from Malang 1929 births Levinas scholars {{reli-philo-bio-stub