This dissertation explores Aristotle’s use of teleology as a principle of explanation, especially as it is used in the natural treatises.

Nature and History, Towards a Hermeneutic Philospohy of Historiography of Science

In what way is constructivist logic able to account for both the role of the judging agent in inference and the universal claims of logical validity?

This dissertation is a study of the view of the Neoplatonist Proclus (Athens, 411-485) on to what extent and how the changing and unreliable world of sense perception can itself be an object of scientific knowledge.

The master's programme in Philosophy of Knowledge at Leiden University is your opportunity to investigate the connections between philosophy and science in historical perspective.

The master's programme in Philosophy of Humanities at Leiden University allows you to specialise in conceptual and methodological issues in the Humanities.

Philosophy of law is concerned with the the foundations of law.

Is it possible to formulate a new conceptual foundation for attributing an evaluative role to historiography of science, without relinquishing the historiographic sensitivity of recent work in the discipline?

This project studies the theory and practice of moral education in the (Neo)Platonic tradition.

If you want to maintain a valid penal system, you have to continue to ask the big questions on punishment. Why do we punish people? What is permissible for the government and what is not? Philosopher of Law Jeroen ten Voorde examines these kinds of questions and keeps his academic colleagues and the…

The Leiden Centre for Theoretical Philosophy (LCTP) is a platform for analytic philosophy in a broad sense at Leiden University. Its members do research in philosophy of science, philosophy of logic and metaphysics, with a keen interest in the history of topics such as mind, knowledge, truth, and ti…

This master’s programme introduces the student to philosophical issues arising at the intersection of law, politics, and policy. This master’s programme is meant for students who wish to combine a master’s in Law, Political Science, Public Administration, or an adjacent discipline with a master’s in…

The aim of this project is to foster a historiography that does justice both to the realization that scientific knowledge is constructed by local, contingent, and contextual processes, and the claims of science to objective validity.

This project will construct an inventory of possible conceptions of the resistance of the world to scientists’ claims and theories.

Conference

Nietzsche’s concept of the agon or Wettkampf, a measured and productive form of conflict inspired by ancient Greek culture, has attracted a good deal of interest in Nietzsche studies and beyond. This book, by a leading expert on the topic, brings together research conducted over 20 years with a focus…

This project aims to situate the current policy concept of ‘valorization of scientific knowledge’ in historical and epistemological perspectives. Conceptual understanding of the utility of scientific practices is developed in dialogue with historical analyses of the politics of knowledge in European…

Philosophy lecturer Victor Gijsbers has been awarded the 2017 Faculty Education Award. The Faculty Education Award is given each year to the Faculty’s most inspiring lecturer. After attending one of Gijsbers’s lectures, the jury said it was impressed by his energy and dry humour.

The philosophers at the Institute for Philosophy develop new perspectives and insights not only on topical themes such as immigration and climate change, but also on more fundamental philosophical questions.

The thesis reconstructs Carl Schmitt's 1956 monography on 'Hamlet'. By scanning and unearthing books, essays, think-pieces, articles, personal diaries and private correspondence, this investigation fully addresses the unwritten philosophy of history -partially developed- in Schmitt's late thought. The…

This NWO-funded research programme focuses on the assumptions and methodology of the writing of history of science. History of science is in many respects a flourishing discipline: it currently yields an impressive volume of studies. Systematic reflection about the ways in which history of science may…

In this dissertation, Boethius’ mathematics and logic and their roles in philosophy are reassessed, and on the basis of these, the connections between mathematics and logic in Boethius and their applications to theological or philosophical topics are explored.

This research project focuses on the thoughts of ethnicity and political orthodoxy in Medieval China by investigating Wang Tong’s works.

A comprehensive analysis of Nietzsche's conception of conflict and the way in which relations of struggle condition the organisation of complex systems (with a specific focus on the human psyche and the body politic).

Kazimierz Twardowski (1866-1938) is the founder of the Lvov-Warsaw School with its strong tradition in logic and its scientific approach to philosophy. Twardowski’s unique way of doing philosophy, his method, is of central importance for understanding his impact as a teacher.

Is scientific research useful? In his dissertation, Jorrit Smit argues that in order to answer this question one should not look at, for example, prominent scholars or influential organisations, but at places where knowledge exchange and co-creation take place. Promotion 6 May.

The two-year master’s programme in Philosophy at Leiden University investigates the fundamental principles underpinning human knowledge while cultivating your capacity for reason and sound argumentation.

This book explores how physicists, astronomers, chemists, and historians in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries employed ‘epistemic virtues’ such as accuracy, objectivity, and intellectual courage. In doing so, it takes the first step in providing an integrated history of the sciences…

The one-year master's programme in Philosophy at Leiden University integrates historical and systematic approaches in philosophy. It offers an advanced training in philosophical methodologies and skills, as well as a sophisticated knowledge of traditional and recent philosophical developments.

The members of the Institute for Philosophy study all aspects of philosophy. In our research we seek a fruitful interaction between systematic and historical approaches to philosophy, and we thrive on intensive national and international collaboration.

Neil Young and Philosophy, edited by Douglas L. Berger, explores the meanings, importance, and philosophical dimensions of the music, career, and life of this prolific singer/songwriter over the past five decades.

Are you graduating at the Faculty of Science? Or are you supervising a PhD student? At the Graduate School of Science you find support at every phase of your PhD.

Information on contract teaching at the Faculty of Science.

The Faculty of Science is located at the Leiden Bio Science Park. It was founded more than two centuries ago and currently, more than 8000 people are working and studying at the eight institutes.

Explore the unknown in order to be able to innovate in the distant future.

The programme consists of 60 EC, to be completed in one year.

Historiography of science is in its current self-image a non-evaluative discipline. Its main goal is to understand past processes of knowledge formation on their own terms. In the last few decades this approach has greatly improved our understanding of the phenomenon of science. Yet, something strange…

How can party bans be justified? Which parties were banned in post-war Europe – and why? Do militant democracy instruments work? Is an international militant democracy concept in the making?