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Leo Apostel | |
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| Born | (1925-09-04)4 September 1925 Antwerp, Belgium |
| Died | 10 August 1995(1995-08-10) (aged 69) Ghent, Belgium |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Université libre de Bruxelles |
| Thesis | La Loi et les Causes |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | philosophy |
| Institutions | Vrije Universiteit Brussel Ghent University |
Leo Apostel (Antwerp, 4 September 1925 –Ghent, 10 August 1995) was a Belgianphilosopher and professor at theVrije Universiteit Brussel andGhent University. Apostel was an advocate of interdisciplinary research and the bridging of the gap betweenexact science andhumanities.
Leo Apostel was bornAntwerp, Belgium, in 1925.[citation needed] After the second World War he studiedphilosophy at theULB inBrussels withphilosopher of law and logicianChaïm Perelman. He got hisM.A. at the ULB in Brussels in October 1948 with the thesisQuestions sur l'Introspection. For another year he stayed there working as an assistant of Perelman.[citation needed]
In 1950-1951 Apostel was a CRB fellow at theUniversity of Chicago withRudolf Carnap, and withCarl Hempel atYale University. He took his Ph.D. at the ULB in March 1953 with the dissertation "La Loi et les Causes". In 1955 he went toGeneva, Switzerland, to study withJean Piaget at the Centre International d'Epistémologie Génétique. These experiences would influence him for the rest of his life.[1]
From 1955 Apostel lecturedlogic andphilosophy of science at theGhent University and the ULB for three years. In 1958-1959 he was visiting professor at thePennsylvania State University, and from 1960 to 1979 professor at Ghent University.[citation needed]
Leo Apostel was awarded the Solvay award for human sciences in 1985 and theArkprijs van het Vrije Woord in 1986. The transdisciplinary research departmentCenter Leo Apostel (CLEA) at theVrije Universiteit Brussel was named after him.[citation needed]
Apostel died at the age of 69 on August 10, 1995.[2]
Apostel was an advocate of interdisciplinary research and the bridging of the gap betweenexact science andhumanities.[citation needed]
He wrote two books about Freemasonry:Freemasonry: A Philosophical Essay in 1985, andAtheïstische spiritualiteit in 1998.[citation needed]
His ideas about atheistic religiosity are widely acknowledged.[citation needed]
In his book "Oorsprong" (Origin) from 2000 Apostel gives ametaphysical introduction about the beginning ofman,life and theuniverse. This work is part of his project to develop his own scientific metaphysics. The basis for this is the contemporaryphilosophy of science and humanities and the existing sciences from physics, astrophysics, biology, geology to anthropology. In this book he first outlines the term metaphysics, then presents an ontology, which results in his own consistentworld view.[3]
Apostel wrote about 20 books and 100 articles in Dutch, French and English.[citation needed] Some of his books:
