Peter-Paul Verbeek
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Peter-Paul Verbeek (; born 6 December 1970, Middelburg) is a Dutch philosopher who is Rectum Magnificus of the
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...
and Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Science and Technology in a Changing World since 1 October 2022. Prior to his appointment in Amsterdam, Verbeek, a Dutch philosopher of technology, was chair of the philosophy department at the
University of Twente The University of Twente ( ; Abbreviation, abbr. ) is a Public university, public technical university located in Enschede, Netherlands. The university has been placed in the top 170 universities in the world by multiple central ranking tables. ...
. He was a member of the Dutch council for the Humanities and chair of the
Society for Philosophy and Technology The Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT) is an independent international organization founded in 1976 whose purpose is to promote philosophical consideration of technology. SPT publishes ''Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology'', a t ...
. Since 2018, he has also been University Professor of Philosophy of Humans and Technology and scientific codirector of the DesignLab at the University of Twente. He is an honorary professor at Aalborg University in Denmark. Furthermore, Verbeek was, among other things, vice-chair of the Board of the Rathenau Institute and chair of the Committee for the Freedom of Scientific Pursuit at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.


Background

Verbeek studied Philosophy of Science, Technology & Society at the University of Twente and obtained his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in 2000. His dissertation was published in English under the title "What things do: philosophical reflections on technology, agency and design". He worked closely together with Hans Achterhuis and Don Ihde in formulating an original, post-phenomenological approach in the tradition of
Philosophy of Technology The philosophy of technology is a sub-field of philosophy that studies the nature of technology and its social effects. Philosophical discussion of questions relating to technology (or its Greek ancestor ''techne'') dates back to the very dawn of ...
. As chair of the philosophy department at the University of Twente, he has been chairman of the Young Academy, the platform for young researchers of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...
. He worked on a research project for which he obtained an NWO Vici grant aimed at the expansion of his theory of technological mediation in the areas of
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
,
epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...
and
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 ...
. In 2018 Verbeek was elected member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...
.


Theory of technological mediation

Verbeek's theory of technological mediation builds on the postphenomenological approach that was first stipulated by Don Ihde. This approach finds its origins in a synthesis between classical phenomenology and American pragmatism, with as one of its major premises the thesis that "technology only bears meaning in a use context". From a critique of classical philosophy of technology, in which Verbeek explicitly elaborates on the existentialist philosophy of
Karl Jaspers Karl Theodor Jaspers (; ; 23 February 1883 – 26 February 1969) was a German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher who had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry, and philosophy. His 1913 work ''General Psychopathology'' influenced many ...
and the hermeneutic philosophy of technology of
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...
. Verbeek presents the aim of his theory of technological mediation as a systematic analysis of the influence of technology on human behavior, focusing on the role technology plays in human–world relations. In his original theory, a number of different human-technology-world relations are stipulated (the first four based on the philosophy of Don Ihde): * Embodiment relations: in which the technology does not call attention to itself but to aspects of the world given through it (e.g. glasses) * Hermeneutic relations: in which the technology represents a certain aspect of the world (e.g. a thermometer) * Background relations: in which technology shapes the experiential context, going beyond conscious experience (e.g. room temperature through a central heating system) * Alterity relations: in which technology presents itself as quasi other to the subject (e.g. an ATM) * Cyborg relations: in which technology merges with the human (e.g., brain implants) * Immersion relations: in which technology forms an interactive context (e.g., smart homes) * Augmentation relations: in which technology mediates and alters our experience of the world, e.g., Google Glass. A unique feature of Verbeek's philosophy of technology is its basis in an empirical analysis of technologies. Instead of generating an overarching framework by which the universal features of specific technologies can be analyzed, Verbeek takes the technology itself as point of departure; which is for example illustrated by his analysis of ultrasound technology Verbeek (2008) Obstetric Ultrasound and the Technological Mediation of Morality: A Postphenomenological Analysis; Human Studies


Selected works

* Verbeek, P.P. (2011), ''Moralizing Technology: Understanding and Designing the Morality of Things''. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. * Verbeek, P.P. (2005), ''What Things Do – Philosophical Reflections on Technology, Agency, and Design''. Penn State: Penn State University Press, (264 pp.) * Kroes, P. and P.P. Verbeek (eds.) (2014), ''The Moral Status of Technical Artefacts''. Dordrecht: Springer, (248 pp.) * Verbeek, P.P. and A. Slob (eds.) (2006), ''User Behavior and Technology Development – Shaping Sustainable Relations between Consumers and Technologies''. Dordrecht: Springer, (412 pp.)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verbeek, Peter-Paul 1970 births Living people 21st-century Dutch philosophers Philosophers of technology Academic staff of the University of Twente University of Twente alumni Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology People from Middelburg, Zeeland Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences