Newsletter

VUB philosopher honored as Atheist of the Year On November 15, philosopher and former VUB professor Jean Paul Van Bendegem will receive the title Atheist of the Year, a label he accepts with both a wink and a healthy dose of nuance. “I’m not a church-basher,” he says, “just someone who reflects on what it means to live without gods.” He speaks from his home in Ghent, surrounded by towering bookshelves and under the watchful eye of his elderly cat, Bonnie Prince Charlie. For V

The message is loud and clear: it’s time to finally move forward with the reform of Belgium’s abortion law. In an opinion piece, Raymonda Verdyck, chair of deMens.nu , urges politicians to stop looking away from the reality faced by thousands of women. “Those who are dealing with an unwanted pregnancy today cannot wait,” she writes pointedly. Ethical progress on pause Last week once again showed how fragile ethical progress can be. In Parliament, the proposals to relax aborti

On September 4, 2025, philosopher Leo Apostel would have turned one hundred. His legacy remains strikingly relevant — especially in an era where technology and artificial intelligence increasingly shape our lives. Apostel taught us that progress only has meaning when it is guided by justice and a human compass. A philosopher of connection Apostel was never a philosopher confined to abstractions. He built bridges between disciplines, between science and ethics, between analysi

At the start of the new school year, Raymonda Verdyck, chair of deMens.nu , calls on society to keep viewing education as more than tests and grades. Education is not merely about performance; it’s about providing equal opportunities, fostering broad personal development, nurturing citizenship, and above all, cultivating critical thinking. Freedom under pressure Today, fundamental freedoms are under threat across the world. Values once taken for granted — gender equality, sci