Van Reybrouck advocates for “vérdenken,” a concept he has coined. “In Dutch, we have the words verspringen and vérspringen, but curiously only verdenken and not vérdenken—while we need the latter so much. To vérdenken is to look at the present from the distant future and the distant past. Where did we come from, and where do we want to go? It is also thinking beyond geographical boundaries or social bubbles. Thinking is more than philosophy, and philosophy is more than Western philosophy.
To face the challenges of our time, we need all the wisdom humanity has ever produced: non-Western philosophies, but also spiritual, literary, and artistic traditions, as well as scientific, collective, and practical forms of thinking. Apparently, there is even something to be learned from the environment—many technological developments already rely on the intelligence of nature.”
David Van ReybrouckIn these turbulent times, it is more necessary than ever to zoom out and think carefully about what is at stake.
David Van Reybrouck – Former NIAS Fellow
During his five-month stay as a Writer-in-Residence at NIAS, he worked on a literary non-fiction book about the history of Congo, among other projects. The book, which appeared in 2010 on the 50th anniversary of Congo’s independence, became a widely acclaimed historical work.
Reflecting on his experience at NIAS, Van Reybrouck wrote:
“Substantial progress was made on my Congo research. Although the mental distance between Wassenaar and the Democratic Republic of Congo often seemed to verge on the intergalactic, I succeeded in securing a firm grip on the Mobutu years (1965-1997), a 32-year time span that still reverberates in today’s politics and society in Central Africa.
The daily exchanges with several fellows, the ease with which Dutch scholars outside the institute could be reached, and the astonishing library services proved particularly conducive to creative thinking and greatly facilitated my forays into new fields of interest and inquiry.”
Text: Based on David Van Reybrouck’s Website
Portrait of David Van Reybrouck by Alex Vanhee
