Koen Vandendriessche studied Philosophy at the University of Gent and went on to earn a master’s degree in Knowledge and Information Management. He is a voracious reader with an inquisitive mind and broad interests.
I wanted to study something completely different… something practical. At the same time, I noticed that I spent more and more time behind my computer.
It’s difficult to define the connection, but there definitely is one. In philosophy, you have to be rational, systematic. Keep an eye on the big picture and not lose yourself in details. And, you have to always be critical. You can’t assume something just because some authority said it was so. I like the more systematic, clear philosophers who don’t disguise themselves in difficult writing. I like the British Empiricists and some modern thinkers like Peter Singer for their clarity and critical approach and also Kant for his strict methodology. But I strongly distrust the terribly vague Derridas among the philosophers.
Yes. A lot of philosophy has an immediate link with reality. Philosophy can, for example, be applied to science, politics and language or it can be used as a way of approaching problem solving in general.
You can also use it to create theories and test those afterwards using experiments. In that way you can couple philosophy with ‘hard science’.
And in doing that, philosophy is good at exposing inconsistencies in your thinking.
Philosophy also involves ethics and that has real implications for the policies of countries. It enables you to take a solid position in debates about issues like abortion, gay marriage and euthanasia.
The culture is very free. You’re an employee but you’re independent as well. Being free and having a voice in decisions doesn’t make you work less. Just the opposite. You feel more motivated.
The Namahn library also really impressed me. There’s a huge variety of books, not just specialised books about computers and design. There’s even a small philosophy section. Not a lot of companies make the effort to build a library, and Namahn is a relatively small company.
Besides, the lack of dress code and hierarchy alone were nearly enough to convince me!
Yes. I read classical novels, poetry and philosophy. I’m a reader and a writer more than a speaker! Recently I discovered Nabokov. I like his writing because of its poetical style, daring subjects and richness. He can write a whole story in two lines sometimes.
In the first year at university, we had to write down our view on the world. It was ‘ontological’ so we had to ask ourselves questions like: “is there a God?”, “are things inherently good or bad?” or “do values exist?” When you’re asked to write these things down explicitly, it really forces you to think. And you discover big gaps in your thinking, inconsistencies. This kind of exercise is good for your self-esteem – at least, after you managed to fill those gaps. Unfortunately, most people never do it. Only when they’re on their deathbed do they ask: “who was I?”
Well, I believe that everything is meaningless and totally random. But that doesn’t mean that there can’t be meaning in your life and relationships. They have the value you ascribe to them. I tend to find enough things around me to value, which makes me a happy person. I usually think about myself as a ‘happy pessimist’!