Spinoza 2020

Spinoza Prize for Pauline Kleingeld

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded the Spinoza Prize, one of the highest distinctions in the Dutch world of science, to Pauline Kleingeld. Kleingeld is Professor of Ethics and its History at the Faculty of Philosophy of the UG and is an internationally renowned expert in the field of Kantian ethics and political philosophy. The Spinoza Prize comprises a grant of € 2.5 million that the researcher can spend on new research completely at their own initiative.

Rector Prof. Cisca Wijmenga: ‘In the Groningen dialect, we would say “it could be worse”, but the Spinoza Prize is just fantastic! A very well-earned achievement for Pauline Kleingeld. What an honour for our University to have this astute and eminent Professor of Ethics and its History with us. I hope that she will inspire our students for a long time to come.’
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Pauline Kleingeld (photo: Reyer Boxem)

Kleingeld has published on topics including free will, the role of emotions and cosmopolitanism in the past and present. She has been able to build a bridge between developments in behavioural sciences and ethics. In the context of developing a contemporary Kantian moral theory, Kleingeld has criticized the dominant reductionist approach to science. In this regard, she points to quasi-inclusive discourses that conceal racist and sexist prejudices.

Read the interview

More information

UKrant article 'Kant was a sexist'
Profile page Pauline Kleingeld
Scientist in focus: Pauline Kleingeld

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