{"id":181633,"date":"2025-09-17T17:08:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=181633"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:55","slug":"waarom-jamie-van-der-klaauw-zijn-boeken-niet-altijd-uitleest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/09\/17\/waarom-jamie-van-der-klaauw-zijn-boeken-niet-altijd-uitleest\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Jamie van der Klaauw doesn\u2019t always finish his books"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamie van der Klaauw freed himself from the idea that he had to read entire books \u2013 let alone complete bodies of work \u2013 before he could say anything meaningful. Since then, he\u2019s been reading more. He did read Capital\u2019s Grave<\/em> by Jodi Dean from cover to cover, and it shaped his thinking as a political philosopher.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLeroy Verbeet<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

By his own admission, Jamie van der Klaauw is \u2018a violent reader; not someone who passively absorbs a book, but someone who reads inquisitively and selectively\u2019. Often, he only reads parts of a book. That\u2019s unusual in philosophy. As a master\u2019s student, he once heard a professor say that philosophers don\u2019t read books, they read oeuvres. \u201cWhile I didn\u2019t even read whole books\u201d, he says now, with a near shrug. \u201cTo read a lot and enjoy it, I had to let go of the idea that you need to know a book from cover to cover.\u201d In philosophy the norms might be different and his view may strike some as provocative, but he repeats it once more: \u201cIt\u2019s not a problem if you don\u2019t finish a book.\u201d And, as he now knows: \u201cMany philosophers don\u2019t either.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Jamie van der Klaauw studied Public Administration and also completed a degree in Philosophy. He now coordinates the bachelor’s programme Philosophy of a Specific Discipline for students taking philosophy as a second degree at EUR. He is also an assistant professor. Last November, he obtained his PhD on the subject of political representation.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

As a student, Van der Klaauw also believed it was important to know all of a thinker\u2019s theories and ideas before putting his own on paper. He let go of that belief during his PhD. Now, he\u2019s content with what he has read so far, however associative those choices may be. \u201cIt\u2019s liberating to accept that I don\u2019t always have to say things that align with the big names in philosophy. Philosophy is an ongoing conversation, it\u2019s work in progress and it\u2019s never finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van der Klaauw walks around with a head full of loose ends \u2013 ideas he read somewhere but hasn\u2019t yet turned into a coherent theory, or vice versa: theories that don\u2019t quite fit the ideas he\u2019s written down so far. \u201cIt\u2019s about learning to pace yourself, to leave space for future papers whose message I don\u2019t even know yet.\u201d He\u2019s at the start of his career \u2013 he obtained his PhD last November. In twenty or thirty years, he might be able to say he\u2019s read oeuvres, that a common thread can be found, but until then, he won\u2019t impose limits on himself.<\/p>\n

New encounter, new perspective<\/h2>

That mindset allows a single encounter to trigger a whole new line of thought. Van der Klaauw once saw a presentation by American political philosopher Jodi Dean, in which she analysed the end of the capitalist system. She wrote Capital\u2019s Grave<\/em> about it \u2013 the book he read from start to finish and that has since shaped his thinking. The idea is that capitalism has exhausted itself, making way for a new system: neo-feudalism. Platforms like Uber are not markets where price or quality can be negotiated \u2013 the platform itself makes the rules, and drivers are subject to them. The author explores ways to counter this emerging neo-feudalism. Van der Klaauw, in turn (philosophy is a conversation!) believes that politics needs to regain control.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the economy outweighs politics\u201d, he says. \u201cMultinationals aren\u2019t constrained by national political rules. Companies set the rules. But citizens can\u2019t exercise power through the economy. They can through politics.\u201d It\u2019s crucial that politics regains its authority, he argues. With the upcoming elections in mind, the question is: what can citizens do? \u201cVote, of course, but much more than that. Participate. Politics isn\u2019t just for politicians or political philosophers. Everyone can do something. Start a conversation, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van der Klaauw was having a coffee at Coffee Company when he overheard a civil servant on the phone, discussing the stripped-down diversity policy. The man spoke loudly enough to hear that he was considering leaving his job, as political headwinds in The Hague were obstructing his work. After the call, Van der Klaauw struck up a conversation. He asked questions and gained more insight into the inner workings of politics. \u201cWherever you are, you can gain a new perspective or have a meaningful interaction. I really believe that\u201d, he says. That might seem like just another loose end, but who knows what political significance such a conversation could have in future.<\/p>\n

Reading habits<\/h2>\t
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Main motivation: Curiosity<\/p>\n

Last book read: Oedipus, Philosopher<\/em> by Jean-Joseph Goux<\/p>\n

Number of books per year: \u201cFive to ten cover to cover, dozens more in part \u2013 sometimes I\u2019ll put a book aside for weeks or months before continuing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Favourite genre: Philosophy<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t