{"id":141888,"date":"2022-06-27T16:25:57","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T14:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=141888"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:42:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:42:44","slug":"stine-jensen-thinking-deep-thoughts-generally-makes-me-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/06\/27\/stine-jensen-thinking-deep-thoughts-generally-makes-me-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"Stine Jensen: \u2018Thinking deep thoughts generally makes me happy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stine Jensen is endowed professor of Public philosophy at the Erasmus School of Philosophy since 1 June. The philosopher, literary scientist, columnist, writer, children\u2019s author and documentary maker likes to view matters from various angles. \u201cIf you read widely and a lot, you must sometimes be bold enough to change your opinions. As a matter of fact, that\u2019s a very healthy thing to do, as long as you stay true to your values.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Public philosopher Stine Jensen has been endowed chair at the Erasmus School of Philosophy since 1 June: 'Thinking deep thoughts generally makes me happy'<\/span><\/p>

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With one hand, Stine Jensen holds open the door of the Amsterdam apartment where she lives, while holding a take-away cup of Persian tea in the other. She is wearing a bright yellow blazer and matching high heels that she purchased for the Wie is de Mol? <\/em>finale.<\/em> She is clutching the additional teabags the shop gave her. In her bright apartment, she switches on an electric kettle and puts a thermos flask with a teabag on the table. Then she takes a seat.<\/p>\n

The philosopher writes columns, philosophical books geared to the public at large and children\u2019s books. Three days a week she works for a broadcasting company called Human, for whom she creates podcasts and TV shows. The broadcasting company seconds her to Erasmus University on one of these three days. She plans to go to Rotterdam once every two weeks, although she might come in more frequently if she were lecturing.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re a philosopher, columnist, author, children\u2019s author and documentary maker. We\u2019ve seen you on TV shows such as Dus ik ben (\u2018Therefore I am\u2019), and in 2018, you were a candidate on Wie is de Mol?. It sounds like an enervating existence. The university must be a tad boring to you after all that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s boring at all. Moreover, I will continue writing children\u2019s books and columns for NRC<\/em>, and I will continue to present lectures. I also worked at VU University for a long time, until 2014. I can imagine teaching lectures being boring if your students are only attending because they have to. But to be honest, I\u2019ve never met a philosophy student who wasn\u2019t intrinsically motivated. Students make things fun. And I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll teach me a thing or two, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of lectures do you hope to give?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI like teaching seminars in which students actively take part. When I worked at VU University, I taught a course called \u2018Art and Society\u2019, where we used philosophical theories to analyse books or films that had proven controversial, such as the humongous scandal that erupted when Salman Rushdie\u2019s Satanic Verses<\/em> was published. We would use philosophical theories to discuss what was causing the controversy and would often identify the same patterns. For instance, the students would often feel that such controversies were caused by the exclusion of, or insults to, one particular group or nation, or that it had something to do with strict public morality laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of subject would you like to research at EUR?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>I would like to explore the tension between the special and the universal. A little while ago I received an invitation to an annual dinner for academics and representatives of society and the business community. If you wanted to eat fish or meat with your dinner, you had to tick a box. In other words, the default option was vegetarian food. I\u2019m a vegetarian myself, but I found it quite striking that guests were practically asked to justify their choice if they wanted to eat any meat. So the norm had suddenly changed. I\u2019d like to write about this dynamic, also to see how it manifests between groups of people. Whether a majority does or does not take into account a minority\u2019s wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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A bookcase full of books, covering an entire wall in her study, boasts a red-and-orange copy of Adagia <\/em>(\u2018Adages\u2019), a collection by the classical philosopher and humanist Erasmus. Books can be found in other rooms, as well. A beaming Jensen leaves through Adagia<\/em>. \u201cThe most beautiful flowers grow at the edge of the ravine. Just imagine coming up with a line like that! It makes your brain crackle. I\u2019d like to see more of Erasmus\u2019s vitality today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The living room holds a small bench seat under which several random hardcover books can be found. Sandra Langereis\u2019s biography of Erasmus, called Erasmus: Dwarsdenker<\/em>, is at the top of the pile. Humanist values such as freedom of religion, searching diversity and personal growth are as important to Jensen as they are to Erasmus.<\/p>\n\n\t

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