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Maarten Boudry

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Maarten Boudry
Born(1984-08-15)15 August 1984(age 40)
Moorslede,Belgium
NationalityBelgian
Alma materGhent University
OccupationPhilosopher
SchoolScientific skepticism
Main interests
Philosophy of science,epistemology,skepticism,pseudoscience
WebsiteMaarten Boudry
Maarten Boudry's voice
Recorded June 2015

Maarten Boudry(born 15 August 1984) is aDutch-speakingBelgianphilosopherandskeptic.He has been a researcher member of the Department ofPhilosophyandMoral SciencesatGhent Universitysince 2006.[1]To date, he has published over 30 articles in variousphilosophy of sciencejournals.[2]

Academic background

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Boudry began his studies in philosophy atGhent Universityin 2002, where he graduatedcum laudein 2006. Between 2007 and 2011, he conductedresearchatGhent University(Logic, History and Philosophy of Science), funded by a research grant from the Flemish foundation Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO). After obtaining hisPhD,he became a postdoctoral fellow at Ghent University, again with the financial support of the FWO. In 2013, he was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Konrad Lorenz Institute inViennafor six months, where he worked on the philosophical underpinnings ofirrationality.Boudry has undertaken many foreign study visits. Additionally, he is a frequent speaker at international conferences and gives guest lectures at academic institutions.

Boudry is a member of a number of scientifically-oriented organizations: the Flemish skeptical organizationSKEPP,[3]theSociety for the Scientific Study of Religion,[4]theCenter for Inquiry[5]and the Imperfect Cognition research network of the Epistemic Innocence Project.[6]He is also one of the founders ofHet Denkgelag,[7]which organizesskeptical conferencesin Flanders.

Sokal affair

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See also:List of scholarly publishing hoaxes

In 2011, Boudry pulled aSokal-stylehoax. Boudry wanted to putChristian philosophersto the test by writing a meaninglessabstract,full oftheologicaljargon, with the title "The Paradoxes of Darwinian Disorder. Towards an Ontological Reaffirmation of Order and Transcendence".[8]The abstract contained sentences such as, "In the Darwinian perspective, order is not immanent in reality, but it is a self-affirming aspect of reality in so far as it is experienced by situated subjects."[9]Under theanagram-pseudonymRobert A. Maundy from the fictitious College of the Holy Cross inReno, Nevada,Boudry submitted the abstract to the organizers of the Christian philosophical conference "The Future of Creation Order" at theVU University Amsterdamand the Centre of Theology and Philosophy at theUniversity of Nottingham,which both accepted it without any reservations.[8][10]The hoax, which Boudry revealed in mid-2012 onFacebookbut became more widely known only after theAmericanscientistJerry Coyneblogged about it,[10][11]received attention in a number of DutchProtestantnewspapers such asReformatorisch Dagblad,Trouw,andNederlands Dagblad.[12][13][14][15]

When asked in an interview with the Dutch popular philosophy magazineFilosofie Magazineabout the reason for the hoax, Boudry said the following:

This was primarily a satirical prank for me, an exercise in grammatically correct nonsense, filled with hollow phrases and theological jargon. In that sense I seem to have succeeded, because the text was credible enough for twotheologyandphilosophy of religionconferences: namely the conference at VU, and the 'What is life' conference, organized by the Centre of Theology and Philosophy of Nottingham University.[10]

No one had discovered that "Robert A. Maundy" and the "College of the Holy Cross" did not exist.Gerrit Glas,president of the conference at the time, found the text to be odd and said they had hesitated for a long time, but ultimately decided to give "Maundy" the benefit of the doubt.[12]Glas admitted that he should have been more critical[9]and defended himself by saying that "it is not uncommon for texts on process theology,negative theology,andpostmodernismto beinscrutable".[12][16]Philosopher of religionTaede A. Smedesat theRadboud University Nijmegenconsidered Boudry's action to be unworthy of an academic, but also found it astonishing that the conference organizers had accepted the text: "Anyone who makes the simple effort to understand the first sentences of Boudry/Maundry's [sic] abstract (if that is even possible), will immediately notice that it is incomprehensible nonsense. "[15]

Skepticism

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Boudry moderating a debate betweenPigliucci,DennettandKrauss(Het Denkgelag2013).

Maarten Boudry is mainly known for his skepticism and critical attitude towardpseudoscience.As aphilosopher of science,one of his main interests is the study of pseudoscience in all its forms and expressions. He studies the fallibility of human reasoning that might underlie pseudoscience and irrationality. Boudry characterizes pseudoscience as "an imitation of realscience".In hisMAthesis,entitledDe naakte Keizers van de Psychoanalyse(The Naked Emperors of Psychoanalysis), he explains why he classifiespsychoanalysisas a pseudoscience and which immunizing strategies this school of thought has developed over the years to withstand criticism. Together withphilosopherJohan Braeckmanhe wrote the bookDe ongelovige Thomas heeft een punt(Doubting Thomashas a point), in which they offer arguments againstparascienceand pseudoscience, blind faith,wishful thinking,astrology,irrationality,psychokinesis,anddowsing,as they consider these ideas to be grounded inlogical fallacies.The title refers to the attitude ofThomas the Apostle,who was initially skeptical when he was told thatJesushad beenresurrected.In an interview, Boudry said:

[...] [it] is also interesting for philosophers to take a closer look at pseudoscience, because it also teaches us something about the difference between good science and pseudoscience, and thus indirectly about how science works as well.[7]

In publications and debates, Boudry also criticizesreligion,intelligent design,and theology. In 2014, during the Dutch Nationale Religiedebat (National Religion Debate), philosophers Maarten Boudry andHerman Philipse(both of whom areatheists) debatedStefan PaasandRik Peelson the question of whether belief in a god is reasonable and what the impact of nonbelief on morality is.[17]Boudry also debated Christian philosopher Emanuel Rutten during the Denkcafé debate "DoesGodExist? "in December 2012, where he said the following:

Of course we can't exclude the existence of God. But you can say the same about theLoch Ness Monster.We could also introduce another all-knowing being: theUnicorn,an intelligentungulate.That animal knows everything, also that God doesn't exist. Or maybe God is the victim of an evil demon. He may know that he himself exists, but there could be ademonwho tricked him into thinking he's thecreatorof heaven and earth.[18]

Awards

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  • 2007:SKEPP-prize for bestthesison immunizing strategies inpsychoanalysis.[19][20]
  • 2011:Liberalesbook of the year forDe ongelovige Thomas heeft een punt[21]
  • 2012: Shortlist ‘Socrates Wisselbeker Filosofie’ for the bookDe ongelovige Thomas heeft een punt[22]
  • 2013: Shortlist Science Communication Award,Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts[23]
  • 2015,Illusies voor gevorderden. Of waarom waarheid altijd beter is,Polis,ISBN978-94-6310-006-9

Selected publications

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Cover ofPhilosophy of Pseudoscience.

Maarten Boudry has published a considerable number of articles in bothpeer-reviewedphilosophical journals and in public print media (newspapers and magazines). Some of his conference presentations are publicly available as well.[24]

Bibliography

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References

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  1. ^"dr. Maarten Boudry".Website UGent.Ghent University.Retrieved22 December2014.
  2. ^"People: Maarten Boudry".Ghent University Academic Bibliography.Universiteit Gent.Retrieved22 December2014.
  3. ^Frederic Vansteenkiste (27 March 2009). ""Iedereen heeft zijn logica"; Maarten Boudry (24) stelt zich als filosoof kritisch op tegenover het paranormale ".Krant van West-Vlaanderen(in Dutch).
  4. ^"Member Publications".Website SSSR.Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.Retrieved24 December2014.
  5. ^Maarten Boudry."Curriculum Vitae".Website Maarten Boudry.Retrieved29 December2014.
  6. ^"Boudry, Maarten".Epistemic Innocence.Retrieved24 December2014.
  7. ^abJozef Van Giel (9 November 2014)."Maarten Boudry over Freud en De Naakte Keizers van de Psychoanalyse".Kritisch Denken.Russells Theepot.Retrieved24 December2014.
  8. ^ab"The Future of Creation Order"(PDF).Program book Christian Philosophy Conference 2011.Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.2011.Retrieved22 December2014.
  9. ^abRobin de Wever (2 October 2012)."VU in verlegenheid: theologisch betoog blijkt gebazel".Trouw(in Dutch).Retrieved22 December2014.
  10. ^abcMaarten Meester (4 October 2012)."VU voor schut met namaakartikel".Filosofie.nl(in Dutch). Filosofie Magazine.Retrieved22 December2014.
  11. ^Coyne, Jerry(25 September 2012)."A Sokal-style hoax by an anti-religious philosopher « Why Evolution Is True".Why Evolution Is True.RetrievedSeptember 15,2014.
  12. ^abc"Filosofen herkenden onzin niet".Trouw.3 October 2012.Retrieved24 December2014.
  13. ^"VU door grap Belgische filosoof in verlegenheid".Reformatorisch Dagblad(in Dutch). 2 October 2012.
  14. ^"Een schelmenstreek in theologisch jargon".Trouw.5 October 2012.Retrieved24 December2014.
  15. ^abAaldert van Soest (2 October 2012)."Christelijke filosofen aanvaarden onzintekst".Nederlands Dagblad(in Dutch).Retrieved24 December2014.
  16. ^"Christelijke filosofen in de maling genomen".Nederlands Dagblad(in Dutch). 2 October 2012.Retrieved24 December2014.
  17. ^KlaasJan Baas (30 January 2014)."Nationaal Religiedebat: Dansen om de hete brij"(in Dutch). Evangelische Omroep.Retrieved18 February2017.
  18. ^"Video Denkcafé: Bestaat God?".Congres- & debatcentrum Arminius. 19 December 2012.Retrieved24 December2014.
  19. ^"SKEPP looft thesisprijs uit van € 1.000".Website SKEPP(in Dutch). SKEPP.Retrieved24 December2014.
  20. ^Stijn Debrouwere (30 April 2007)."SKEPPticus Maarten Boudry over psychoanalyse".Schamper (452).Retrieved24 December2014.
  21. ^"Maarten Boudry en Johan Braeckman schreven Liberales-boek 2011".Website Liberales(in Dutch). Liberales. 16 December 2011.Retrieved24 December2014.
  22. ^"Shortlist Socrates Wisselbeker 2012 bekend".Filosofie.nl(in Dutch). Filosofie Magazine. 8 March 2012.Retrieved24 December2014.
  23. ^"Onderscheiding Wetenschapscommunicatie voor Francis wyffels en 7 andere UGent-ers".Website UGent(in Dutch). Universiteit Gent. 8 July 2013.Retrieved24 December2014.
  24. ^"Maarten Boudry".ugent.be.
  25. ^"Irreducible Incoherence and Intelligent Design – a look into the conceptual toolbox of a pseudoscience - Maarten Boudry".google.com.
  26. ^"How not to attack Intelligent Design Creationism: Philosophical misconceptions about Methodological Naturalism - Maarten Boudry".google.com.
  27. ^"In Mysterious Ways: On petitionary prayer and subtle forms of supernatural causation - Maarten Boudry".google.com.
  28. ^"Immunizing Strategies & Epistemic Defense Mechanisms - Maarten Boudry".google.com.
  29. ^"Where the design argument goes wrong: Auxiliary assumptions and unification - Maarten Boudry".google.com.
  30. ^"How Convenient! The Epistemic Rationale of Self-validating Belief Systems - Maarten Boudry".google.com.
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