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Leo Apostel
Leo Apostel
Born	4 September 1925
Died	10 August 1995 (aged 69)
Awards	Prijs Vrijzinnig Humanisme (1995) ;

Leo Apostel (Antwerp, 4 September 1925 – Ghent, 10 August 1995) was a Belgian philosopher and professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. Apostel was an advocate of interdisciplinary research and the bridging of the gap between exact science and humanities.

Biography

Leo Apostel was born Antwerp, Belgium, in 1925.^{[citation needed]} After the second World War he studied philosophy at the ULB in Brussels with philosopher of law and logician Chaïm Perelman. He got his M.A. at the ULB in Brussels in October 1948 with the thesis Questions 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 the University of Chicago with Rudolf Carnap, and with Carl Hempel at Yale University. He took his Ph.D. at the ULB in March 1953 with the dissertation "La Loi et les Causes". In 1955 he went to Geneva Switzerland to study with Jean Piaget at the Centre International d'Epistémologie Génétique. These experiences would influence him for the rest of his life.^[1]

From 1955 Apostel lectured logic and philosophy of science at the Ghent University and the ULB for three years. In 1958-1959 he was visiting professor at the Pennsylvania 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 the Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord in 1986. The transdisciplinary research department Center Leo Apostel (CLEA) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel was named after him.^{[citation needed]}

Apostel died at the age of 69 on August 10, 1995.^[2]

Work

Apostel was an advocate of interdisciplinary research and the bridging of the gap between exact science and humanities.^{[citation needed]}

He wrote two books about Freemasonry: Freemasonry: A Philosophical Essay in 1985, and Atheïstische spiritualiteit in 1998.^{[citation needed]}

His ideas about atheistic religiosity are widely acknowledged.^{[citation needed]}

Origins

In his book "Oorsprong" (Origin) from 2000 Apostel gives a metaphysical introduction about the beginning of man, life and the universe. This work is part of his project to develop his own scientific metaphysics. The basis for this is the contemporary philosophy 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 consistent world view.^[3]

Literature

Apostel wrote about 20 books and 100 articles in Dutch, French and English.^{[citation needed]} Some of his books:

1959, Logika en geesteswetenschappen, Bruges
1964, De humanismen en het humanisme, Antwerp
1966, Pluralisme en verdraagzaamheid, Antwerp (with Marcel Bots)
1974, Matière et Forme, Ghent
1975, Formele logika. 1. Klassieke systemen, Kapellen
1977, Déterminants sociologiques de la méthodologie scientifique, Marseille
1978, Pedagogiek, logica en actietheorie, Leuven
1979, Communication et Action, Ghent
1979, Logique et Dialectique, Ghent
1980, Theory of knowledge and science policy, Ghent
1981, African Philosophy : myth or reality?, Ghent
1982, Mysticism, ritual and atheism, in Religious atheism?, Ghent
1984, Afbraak en Opbouw, VUB Press, Brussels
1985, Freemasonry: A Philosophical Essay, VUB Press, Brussels
1990, Atheïstische spiritualiteit, School voor comparatieve filosofie, Ghent
1991, Wereldbeelden: van fragmentering naar integratie, Kapellen (with Jan Van der Veken)
1992, De Gebroken Orde, Kritak, Leuven
1992, Vrijmetselarij. Een wijsgerige benadering, Hadewijch, Antwerp
1993, Waarde en Zin van de Cultuurwetenschappen in de 20e eeuw, Pelckmans, Kapellen
1994, Wereldbeelden: ontologie en ethiek, DNB Pelckmans, Antwerp
1997, Hopeloos gelukkig, Meulenhoff Kritak, Amsterdam (with Jenny Walry & Bart Keunen)
1998, Atheïstische spiritualiteit, VUB Press, Brussels
2000, Oorsprong: inleiding tot een metafysica van het ontstaan van mens, leven en heelal, VUB Press, Brussels
2000, Levend sterven, VUB Press, Brussels
2000, Natuurfilosofie: voorbereidend werk voor een op de fysica gebaseerde ontologie, VUB Press, Brussels
2002, Wereldbeelden en ethische stelsels, VUB Press, Brussels
2002, Zoektocht naar eenheid verscheidenheid: 6 opstellen over metafysica, VUB Press, Brussels