Egbert Schuurman (born 23 July 1937) is a Dutch

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

for the Christian Union, and Emeritus Professor of

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Biography

Born in Borger, Schuurman attended the Protestant primary school in Drenthe Nieuwbuinen, and the HBS-b in Stadskanaal, where he received his diploma on 18 June 1955. After studying

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the HTS in Groningen, Schuurman continued his studies at

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

. After his graduation in 1964 Schuurman began to study philosophy at the

Vrije Universiteit The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the othe ...

in Amsterdam, a study which he completed in 1968. In 1972 Schuurman received his PhD with a thesis entitled ''Techniek en Toekomst - Confrontatie met wijsgerige beschouwingen'' ("Technology and Future - Confrontation with philosophical considerations") under supervision of

Hendrik Van Riessen Hendrik Van Riessen (17 August 1911, in Bloemendaal, North Holland – 28 February 2000, in Bloemendaal) was one of the second generation of reformational philosophy, reformational philosophers arising from the Vrije Universiteit, Free University ( ...

. From 1964 Schuurman had started his academic career at the Technical University of Delft, and in 1966 moved to the Vrije Universiteit. In 1972 he was also appointed Professor in the Reformed Philosophy at the Technical University of Eindhoven, which he remained until 2004. From 1975 to 2004 and he also held that post at the Technical University in Delft, and from 1984 to September 2007 at the University of Wageningen. The latter was in large part devoted to agriculture. Among his students in Amsterdam was Sytse Strijbos, and in Delft he was succeeded by Marc de Vries. From 1983 to 2011 he was also a member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, serving among others as the chairman of the Christian Union party caucus and Senate group leader (succeeded by

Roel Kuiper Roelof (Roel) Kuiper (born 5 April 1962 in Mariënberg) is a Dutch historian, philosopher, ideologue, politician and university professor. He was from 2007 to 2019 a member of the Dutch Senate of the Netherlands, Senate, and is professor of Refo ...

). Schuurman was Visiting Professor on topics from the philosophy of technology in Canada, the United States, England, Korea, Japan, South Africa and Brazil. In 1994 was awarded an honorary doctorate in Technical Sciences at the University of North West (Potchefstroom), South Africa. In 1995 he was awarded the Templeton Award in Berkeley at the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences. In 2003 he was awarded officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

Work

Schuurman's research interest is most concerned with exploring and developing

Reformational philosophy Reformational philosophy of society is a neo-Calvinistic movement pioneered by Herman Dooyeweerd and D. H. Th. Vollenhoven that seeks to develop philosophical thought in a Reformed Christian direction. It is related to the idea of a polit ...

and its organised expression, the Association for Reformational Philosophy. From 1983 to 1984 he was in the U.S. part of an international research team on Responsible Technology. He was from 1981 to 1983 member of the so-called DNA-Wide Committee, acting on behalf of the government studied the social and ethical aspects of work with genetic material. He was a member of the steering committee of The Royal Institute of Engineers on "Limits to technology". Besides his thesis and future technology, he has published many other writings - see Bibliography. His latest book is: "Believe in Science and Technology". Several books Schuurman are translated into English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese. He was also editor of two international journals in the field of philosophy of technology.

Publications in English

* ''Reflections on the technological society'' (1978) * ''Modern technology in a Christian-philosophical perspective'' (1979) * ''Faith and Hope in Technology'' (2003) * ''Deliverance from the Technical World Pictures'' (2004)

External links

Official Website
*
Parlement.com biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuurman, Egbert 1937 births Living people 20th-century Dutch philosophers 21st-century Dutch philosophers Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Christian Union (Netherlands) politicians Delft University of Technology alumni Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology Dutch Christian writers Dutch civil engineers Academic staff of the Eindhoven University of Technology Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Netherlands Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau People from Borger-Odoorn Philosophers of technology Reformatory Political Federation politicians Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni Academic staff of Wageningen University and Research