Professor Isabelle Stengers, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Arts)

Professor Isabelle Stengers holds a unique position in modern European philosophy. More than anyone else, she has succeeded in demonstrating the importance and relevance of scientific research and scientific philosophy in a broader humanistic and social-scientific context. Isabelle Stengers has bridged the gulf between the humanities and sciences by showing that humanistic and philosophical thinking are vital for academic reflection in the sciences.

For a number of years, Professor Stengers has had close ties with a variety of research environments at Aarhus University. These ties began at an international conference in 1997 entitled “Time, Heat and Order”, at which she was a key-note speaker. This encounter led to regular visits and contributions to both assessment and appointment committees. Her contact with Aarhus University has been interdisciplinary, and she has enjoyed long-term connections with the Centre for Health, Humanity and Culture at Arts. She has also had contact with the information science environment and with the neurosciences, including the interdisciplinary research centre called MINDLab.

Isabelle Stengers is an international representative for some of the central ideas which Aarhus University’s efforts to promote interdisciplinary research at the highest level seek to put into practice.