This course focuses on present-day and particularly continental philosophical approaches to technology and science. The course consists of 12 sessions (±150mins), with sessions centering around authors (e.g. Heidegger, Simondon, Stiegler), and other sessions being more thematic (e.g. Synthetic Cell, AI, Anthropocene). Confirmed lecturers are:
- Prof. Vincent Blok (Erasmus University Rotterdam);
- Prof Susanna Lindberg (Leiden University);
- Prof. Hub Zwart (Erasmus University Rotterdam);
- Helena de Preester (Ghent University);
- Massimiliano Simons (Maastricht University);
- Selin Gerlic (University of Amsterdam);
- Pieter Lemmens (Radboud University Nijmegen)
- Maren Wehrle (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
- Sjoerd van Tuinen (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Students get to know several of the leading perspectives in philosophy of technology, both in terms of main authors and methods, as well as contemporary topics and issues. The course focuses on fundamental philosophical and conceptual issues and questions, thereby aiming to shed light on the assumptions that often implicitly structure the discourses of science and technology today. However, these fundamental issues are discussed in light of contemporary technoscientific developments and associated research by the lecturers.
Aim / objective
The aim is to become acquainted with the main contemporary philosophical issues, methods, and questions in continental approaches to technoscience in the 21st century.
Program
Wednesday 26-11-2025
- 10:00 – 10:30: Opening & Introductions – Vincent Blok & Jochem Zwier
- 10:30 – 13:00: Heidegger – Vincent Blok
- 14:00 – 16:30: Phenomenology in Husserl and Merleau Ponty – Maren Wehrle
Thursday 27-11-2025
- 10:00 – 12:30: Simondon – Susanna Lindberg
- 13:30 – 16:00: TBA – Helena de Preester
Friday 28-11-2025
- 10:00 – 12:30: Stiegler on Technics – Pieter Lemmens
- 13:30 – 16:00: Technology and Anarchism – Sjoerd van Tuinen
Monday 01-12-2025
- 10:00 – 12:30: Close Reading session: Heidegger (details TBA) – Vincent Blok
- 13:30 – 16:00:Hottois and TechnoScience – Massimiliano Simons
Tuesday 02-12-2025
- 10:00 – 12:30: Feminism & TechnoScience – Selin Gerlic
- 13:30 – 16:00: Psychoanalysis and Synthetic Life – Hub Zwart
Wednesday 03-12-2025
- 10:00 – 12:30: Human-Tech Relations – Peter-Paul Verbeek
- 13:30 – 16:00: World, Earth, Data – Vincent Blok
- 16:00 – 17:00: Closing
Assessment
Participants are expected to read all the assigned literature, to do assignments and to actively participate in the discussions. Students will complete the course with a final written assignment, where they link their own research to one or more of the discussed topics. This final assignment will take the form of a blog-post to be published on the 4TU.ethics blog website.
Credit points
This course is a collaboration with the OZSW. Participants can earn an OZSW certificate after successful completion. Please note, however, that the OZSW is not accredited to reward students with credits/ECTS directly. The study load is mentioned on the certificate, which can usually be exchanged for ‘real’ credits (ECTS) at your home university. For more info please see https://www.ozsw.nl/request-certificate/. The study load for this activity is: 5 ECTS.
Costs
- Free to PhD students who are a member of the 4TU Center for Ethics and Technology and/or OZSW;
- Free to Research Master students who are a member of the 4TU Center for Ethics and Technology and/or OZSW;
- All others pay a tuition fee of €300
Registration/application form
How to register:
- Members of the OZSW: make sure you are logged in on the OZSW website. After you have successfully registered for the course, it will appear in your ‘profile page’.
- PhD researchers may register via the registration button on the OZSW website.
- ReMA students and others may apply for a waiting list (as the primary target group for this activity is PhD researchers) by sending an email to secretariaat@ozsw.nl
The registration deadline is October 17, 2025. If registration has been closed because the maximum amount of participants has been reached, you can submit your name to the waiting list by sending an email to secretariaat@ozsw.nl. Please also indicate whether you are a ReMA student or PhD candidate and whether you are a member of the OZSW or not.
The OZSW registration and cancellation policy applies to this activity (to be found here).
More information
Name: Dr. Jochem Zwier
Email: jochem.zwier@wur.nl