24 mei 2016 | Uitreiking eredoctoraten
Dies Natalis 2016
Resilient Society Toesprakenbundel
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INHOUD ____________________________________________
Openingswoord rector Luc De Schepper
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Laudatio Kunlé Adeyemi – door Jo Berben
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Laudatio Paul Stoffels – door Veerle Somers
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Laudatio Jean-Marie Tarascon – door Marlies Van Bael
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Laudatio Martha C. Nussbaum – door Luc De Schepper
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Welkomstwoord Academische zitting Hooggeachte aanwezigen, Ik heet u van harte welkom op deze academische zitting ter gelegenheid van onze Dies Natalis. Sinds vele jaren al eert de Universiteit Hasselt eminente wetenschappers, kunstenaars, journalisten en denkers wiens gedachten, woorden en daden de samenleving sturen en gestuurd hebben. Vandaag zetten we die traditie voort. Ceremonies zoals deze bevestigen dat we er nooit aan moeten twijfelen dat – om de Amerikaanse antropologe Margaret Mead te parafraseren – “een kleine groep mensen een wereld kan veranderen. De waarheid is: het is het enige wat die wereld ooit veranderd hééft.” I would like to welcome our guests of honor: Kunlé Adeyemi, Paul Stoffels, Jean-Marie Tarascon and Martha C. Nussbaum. They have all introduced new ways of looking at the mounting challenges our society faces. The homes and schools Mr. Kunlé designs; the theories Professor Nussbaum puts on paper and the views she develops; the innovations Dr. Stoffels and Professor Tarascon ignite… They turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones. They provide us with a compass to navigate through disruptive changes and prepare us for future waves of disruption. Therefore, they serve as excellent ambassadors of this year’s theme: ‘Resilient Society’. Dear prospective honorary doctors: it is a pleasure to celebrate Hasselt University’s Foundation Day in your presence. Dames en heren, In deze 21ste eeuw ontsnapt geen enkele trilling van de aardkorst, waar ook ter wereld, aan onze seismograaf. De werkelijkheid – of die nu komt in de vorm van economische disruptie, technologische revolutie of klimaatverandering – klopt hard op onze deuren. Een veerkrachtige samenleving is een samenleving die tegelijkertijd rechtkrabbelt na zulke schokken én anticipeert op schokken die nog komen gaan; een samenleving die lessen trekt en voorbereidingen treft. Veerkracht is dingen anders doen én andere dingen doen. Veerkracht vereist wendbaarheid, weerbaarheid en innovatie. De oude schachtbokken die de Limburgse horizon tekenen, herinneren ons aan een ver verleden, maar ook aan getoonde veerkracht. Jaren van relatieve voorspoed waarin miljoenen tonnen aan steenkool uit de grond werden gehaald, maakten plaats voor een golf aan sluitingen. Maar die tegenspoed effende ook het pad voor nieuwe ideeën en initiatieven – voor een nieuwe horizon. Met de sluiting van Ford Genk werd de Limburgse economische ruggengraat opnieuw geraakt. Maar – wederom – niet gebroken. Met SALK kwam er een plan op tafel dat Limburg verder op weg moet zetten naar een gezonde, gediversifieerde, duurzame, innovatieve economie met een hoogopgeleide bevolking en ondernemende, creatieve durvers – stuk voor stuk ingrediënten die een stad, regio of land veerkrachtiger maken. Die aanpak heeft in de afgelopen jaren onder meer al geleid tot zeven incubatoren (BioVille, GreenVille, EnergyVille en Corda Campus om er enkele te noemen) waar volop slimme ideeën groeien. Tot een onderzoeksgroep van het Vlaams Instituut voor 3
Biotechnologie rond MS binnen BIOMED. Tot Limburg Makes It (waarbij ons onderzoeksinstituut IMO intens samenwerkt met bedrijven in de maakindustrie rond het gebruik van nieuwe, slimme materialen). Tot Smart Logistics Limburg (waarin ons onderzoeksinstituut voor Mobiliteit en onze onderzoeksgroep Logistiek met andere kenniscentra en bedrijven werken aan innovatie in de logistieke sector). En tot de opleiding handelswetenschappen (die qua inschrijvingsaantallen alle verwachtingen overstijgt). In de nabije toekomst krijgt onze fysieke en intellectuele infrastructuur bovendien nog een flinke uitbreiding met de opening van de Ecotron Hasselt University en het Applicatiecentrum voor Beton en Bouw. Wat al deze projecten hebben getoond – en tonen – is dat universiteiten, hogescholen, overheden, steden en bedrijven natuurlijke en noodzakelijke bondgenoten zijn in het versterken van veerkracht te midden van flink schuivende tektoniek. Het maakt onze missie als UHasselt – jongeren opleiden, academisch toponderzoek doen, met bedrijven samenwerken, een steeds uitwaaierend internationaal netwerk uitbouwen – des te dwingender en urgenter. In een veerkrachtige samenleving is het de plicht van de Universiteit Hasselt om mee oplossingen aan te reiken. Om de woorden van Goethe te lenen: “Het volstaat niet te weten, men moet óók toepassen. Het volstaat niet te willen, men moet óók handelen”. Een pleidooi voor bezonnen en vastberaden actie dat eigenlijk ook vervat zit in onze slagzin Knowledge in action – kennis omzetten in handelen. Woorden die prominent figureren op de medailles die we vandaag uitreiken. Dames en heren, beste collega’s en studenten, In de 17de eeuw ondergingen onze contreien een Kleine IJstijd – met hongersnoden en onrust tot gevolg. Met name in de toenmalige noordelijke Nederlanden ging het roer, noodgedwongen, drastisch om. Die 17de eeuw staat geboekstaafd als de Nederlandse Gouden Eeuw. Wat deze anekdote ons leert, is dat defaitisme en pessimisme geen optie zijn. Want zoals historicus Ian Buruma het onlangs nog formuleerde: defaitisme en pessimisme “ontslaan er ons van om na te denken over de toekomst”. En in precies dat ‘nadenken over de toekomst’ schuilt de veerkracht die we nodig hebben om de haast constante stroom aan uitdagingen het hoofd te bieden. Laten we die wijsheid als UHasselt steeds voor ogen houden. Dear prospective honorary doctors, You have all spent the past few years on the treadmill of achievement. You have all taught us how to live without certainty and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation. You have all shown the capacity to build a better society than the one you were born into. Your ideas are a springwell for resilience. For all these reasons each of you will be granted an honorary degree. In the next hour Hasselt University will salute your accomplishment to unleash your powers of creativity and innovation and your aspiration to change the world. Thank you. Ik dank u.
Prof. dr. Luc De Schepper, rector UHasselt
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Laudatio Kunlé Adeyemi Our Faculty of Architecture and Art would like to thank you for having accepted the honorary doctorate that we would like to bestow on you today. From your architectural firm NLÉ located in Lagos, Nigeria, and in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, you work on projects on all continents, always making a passionate plea for a dimension of architecture that we seem to have lost to some extent here in Europe, but which we increasingly feel is both valuable and necessary. The dimension that we are speaking about is that of social engagement, people empowerment and changing people’s lives by carefully shaping their built environment. NLÉ, the name of your architectural studio, means ‘at home’ in Yoruba. From the 11th century onwards, the Yoruba lived in a network of West African cities. But within NLÉ’s philosophy, the ‘home’ is much more than walls, floors and ceilings. It refers to the fundamental building blocks of the city, to everyday life and the uses of public space in the emerging and endlessly complex urbanisms of developing regions. In many of your projects, the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. You often say: “We are living in interesting times in Africa.” Working from Europe, we feel that the same is true for this part of the world. So we are partners in the challenges that lay ahead. Globalization, confusing economic realities, our multicultural society, and more recently the exodus of refugees coming to the old continent… These are major challenges that we, as architects, also need to address. For its Foundation Day celebrations, our university has chosen the theme of ‘Resilient Society’. It is a theme that our Faculty can easily associate with, as it links up seamlessly with our mission. After all, we always put man at the centre when we design and think about spaces. But also because our Faculty is convinced that in a rapidly changing society, we need more creativity to face the extreme challenges that we are confronted with. We believe that architects, as 'critical spatial thinkers', are important in their role as directors of space. It is a pleasure for me to explain to the audience where our appreciation of your work comes from, as it is directly related to our changing role in society. I would like to illustrate this by giving two examples. One of NLÉ’s most significant projects is located in Makoko, a settlement in the lagoon heart of Nigeria's largest city, Lagos. Makoko is a settlement of pile dwellings. The buildings are low, to match the limited bearing capacity of the boggy terrain. In this area, there is virtually no dry land in the conventional sense of the word. Water is present everywhere. It is the infrastructure, the transport system, but also the playground, or the place to do the washing or to fish... Within this context, the relationship between water, community, environment and the economy is a very complex one, but also a challenging one. At the community's request, you designed a floating school with very limited means, using a surprisingly creative approach. Empty barrels constitute the foundation as well as a solid base for a 3-story building. The entire structure is made from locally sourced materials, using building principles that have been applied by the local population for centuries... thus enabling them to make their own contribution. Your great merit is the fact that in this way you have created a project both for and by the village. For them, this 200m 2 floating building makes a real difference. The open concept on the ground floor allows a variety of activities. 5
This is something we consider as highly contemporary in our European buildings too. The building easily transcends its use and the school becomes a playground, a meeting room, a jetty, or a party centre. Classrooms are located at Level 1, while at the top of this zone, there is an open classroom and a vantage point. Thanks to the simplicity of its foundation and design, the building naturally responds to tides and flooding . moreover its typology can be applied in similarly precarious conditions. With its blue roof, it is also an icon, that underlines the importance of education for our youths, but also shows that even if there is no solid ground, creative solutions can be found. As a pilot project, it has taken an innovative approach to address the community’s social and physical needs in view of the impact of climate change and a rapidly urbanizing context. It has become an archetype of resilient design and architecture. A second project that I would like to refer to, is located 500 kilometres further on in Nigeria, in a similar context. Chicoco Radio is a waterfront development that will give voice to over 500.000 residents who live in this area. This project is another example of the responsibility that you take as a director of both the space and the sensitive and delicate social fabric. Local communities in the coastal areas are threatened by the destruction of their villages due to large private developments. You help them to orchestrate their lives on the basis of space. The Chicoco Radio project shows how you can achieve this goal in a masterful way. The structure is conceived as a linear composition of public spaces from land to water: a community radio station, recording studios, computer centre, meeting rooms, amphitheatre and cinema. The radio broadcast mast is an integrated architectural component raising the structure like a bridge: launching one end of the building into the water, suspending the other in the air. The waterside of the building is a floating stage and jetty responding to the ebb and flow of the tide. The airside is the broadcast space where programmes and music are made to air. The cantilevered studios open a shaded landscaped area beneath a place of open public debate. Built from locally available materials, the structure incorporates renewable energy systems. During the complete process of this project, from the first concept to the final development, the local community was always involved as an active actor. Your designs and executed projects have created ripples that have reached out beyond the waters of Nigeria. Thank you for your willingness to share them with us and to inspire us. Working with our students in our different international studios of the study programme, such as Studio Tanzania, we are inspired by your work and we believe strongly that your architecture and the processes behind it will guide us to solutions for coping with our own challenges in this area. This is: “learning from Africa” – a title that we also used for our symposium earlier this morning. With your designs and your desire to empower local communities you solve contemporary issues without compromising the challenges of tomorrow. To us as architects, this gives inspiration and energy to contribute to a resilient society. Dear Kunlé Adeyemi, these two projects offer just a brief glimpse on your work. I apologize for having refrained from elaborating on your impressive professional record of achievements. I have not referred to your long-term collaboration with OMA (the world leading architectural firm of Rem Koolhaas), of which you were a partner. Nor have I mentioned the institutes that have asked you to lecture or each, such as Harvard, M.I.T, and Cornell University, to name just a few. It is however clear that the University of Hasselt is both proud end honoured to be able to celebrate the Foundation Day your presence. We share a passion for “social and environmental consciousness” and we hope that you will cherish this honorary doctorate, which will be conferred upon you by our rector on the recommendation of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts and research group Arck. - Prof. dr. Jo Berben (promotor), faculteit Architectuur en kunst 6
Laudatio Paul Stoffels Eén van de discussiepunten in de maatschappij is de constante evolutie en nieuwe uitdagingen in de gezondheidszorg. Cruciaal hierbij zijn personen die hét verschil maken: niet alleen in België, maar wereldwijd. Dit statement is perfect van toepassing op Dr. Paul Stoffels. Dr. Paul Stoffels heeft vanuit diverse functies de fundamenten gelegd en oplossingen geboden voor infectieziekten zoals HIV met een cruciale impact op de wereldgezondheid: als jonge arts, toponderzoeker, topondernemer. Na zijn studie geneeskunde aan de Universiteit Hasselt (alumnus UHasselt) en de Universiteit Antwerpen, specialiseerde Dr. Stoffels zich in infectieziekten en tropische geneeskunde. Hij startte zijn carrière als arts in Afrika, waar hij geconfronteerd werd met het snel groeiende probleem van HIV, wat levensbedreigend was voor duizenden patiënten. Na zijn terugkeer in België vormde dit dé grote uitdaging om een geneesmiddel voor HIV te ontwikkelen bij dokter Janssen in Beerse binnen de farmaceutische industrie. Dit verliep niet vlekkeloos: de eerste HIV-geneesmiddelen die ontwikkeld werden, werkten niet, waardoor het beleid van de multinational Johnson & Johnson waarin Janssen Pharmaceutica inmiddels was opgenomen niet meer overtuigd was van de slaagkansen. Daarom besloot Dr. Stoffels het HIV-onderzoek buiten het bedrijf voort te zetten, samen met Rudi Pauwels, dat leidde tot de oprichting van TibotecVirco. Na veel volharding en doorzettingsvermogen, zorgde Dr. Stoffels samen met zijn team voor een doorbraak mét succesvolle aidsremmers. Dit wekte opnieuw de interesse van Johnson & Johnson dat het bedrijf Tibotec-Virco overnam. Vanaf het begin heeft Dr. Stoffels veel aandacht besteed aan de patiënt. Zo nam hij destijds de topman van Johnson & Johnson mee naar patiënten in Afrika, om te tonen dat de nood zeer hoog was en dat er geen tijd te verliezen was. Door verder onderzoek en ontwikkeling binnen Johnson & Johnson maakt nu de inname van één tablet per dag het verschil tussen leven en dood voor honderdduizenden HIV-patiënten. “Dokter, u heeft mijn leven gered”, is een uitspraak die een enorme betekenis heeft voor een arts. Indien honderdduizenden levens gered kunnen worden, is dit van onschatbare waarde. Dr. Stoffels ontwikkelde een indrukwekkende carrière binnen de farmaceutische industrie. Van hoofd infectieziekten bij Janssen Pharmaceutica in Beerse tot Chief Scientific Officer van de Amerikaanse multinational Johnson & Johnson, en wereldwijd hoofd van de farmaceutische groep van Johnson & Johnson. Onder zijn leiding is Johnson & Johnson uitgegroeid tot een multinational van 45.000 personen, en heeft dit geresulteerd in de ontwikkeling van 15 nieuwe geneesmiddelen voor de behandeling van o.a. prostaatkanker, multipel myeloom, diabetes. Recent werd Dr. Stoffels als enige Belg erkend tot de 25 meest invloedrijke personen in de internationale biofarma en staat hij aan de top van de lijst Belgen die hét verschil maken in de gezondheidszorg. Dr. Stoffels hanteert het model van ‘open innovatie’. Hierbij kiest hij resoluut voor optimale samenwerking tussen kennisinstellingen en bedrijven in een zeer vroege fase. Alleen door een efficiënte krachtenbundeling van onderzoekers, industrie, overheid en gezondheidsorganisaties kunnen adequate oplossingen worden gevonden voor ziektes die een belangrijk risico vormen voor de wereldgezondheid. Vanuit zijn functie als wereldwijd hoofd van de farma divisie van Johnson & Johnson werd hij geconfronteerd met de recente uitbraak van het Ebola virus in 2013. In korte tijd werden duizenden slachtoffers gemaakt met als gevolg een hele generatie van ‘Ebola wezen’. De ziekte heeft daarnaast ook grote gevolgen gehad voor de economie van de 7
getroffen regio’s in West-Afrika. Als manager ontwikkelde Dr. Stoffels een consortium waarbij de farma industrie nauw samenwerkt met overheid en onderzoeksteams in de wereld om in een nooit geziene recordtijd nieuwe vaccins te ontwikkelen voor Ebola. Dit onderzoek is veelbelovend maar nog niet helemaal afgerond. Samen met Peter Piot, de Vlaamse ‘mede-ontdekker’ van Ebola schreef Paul Stoffels in november 2015 in een opiniestuk in The Guardian “The priorities now are to strengthen local capacities to detect and promptly contain epidemics, and to intensify research and development for vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. The global community can stop the next Ebola epidemic. Whether or not we do so is a choice we have to make today.” A resilient healthcare system forms an inherent part of a ‘resilient society’. Ladies and gentlemen, The Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences of Hasselt University is honored to award the title of doctor honoris causa to Dr. Paul Stoffels for his outstanding achievements in the development of new medicines for HIV and in recognition of his excellent contribution to developments of new medicines for other diseases such as cancer, diabetes and infectious diseases.
- Prof. dr. Veerle Somers (promotor), faculteit Geneeskunde en levenswetenschappen
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Laudatio Jean-Marie Tarascon I take the liberty to start with a quote from Denis Goffaux, CTO of Umicore (a global materials technology company). Five years ago, at this very place, he stated ”energy is not stored in the battery; it is stored in the materials”. He is right: We wouldn’t be sitting here with our smartphones or laptops, no iPads, pacemakers or Tesla’s without human minds who fundamentally understand the meticulous chemistry that drives atoms to arrange themselves into functioning materials. It is my great pleasure and a true honor to introduce you to one of them: Jean-Marie Tarascon. His seminal contributions to the chemistry of materials for energy storage have shaped the current battery technology and guided major future developments. Jean-Marie Tarascon studied in Bordeaux where he obtained a PhD in Solid-State Chemistry in 1981. In the first years of his research career, he worked on high temperature superconductors in the United States. In 1994, he and his Bellab-colleagues developed the first plastic rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. Back in France, from 1995 onwards, he became a tenured professor at the Université de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens. He created several national and international research networks by assembling scientists from academic and industrial laboratories for cross-cutting research on battery materials. Since 2013, he is Professor at the renowned Collège de France in Paris, holding a chair in Chemistry of Solids (for) Energy. Throughout the years, Professor Tarascon devoted his career to the fundamental science of rechargeable battery materials and developed new electrode materials, sustainable chemistries and new eco-efficient synthesis processes. His insights influence the science and technology of energy storage, leading to new products, many of which are now widely used by commercial manufacturers. A few examples:
His invention, the first flat and flexible Li-ion battery, is now powering electronics and found in prototype electric vehicles. He is at the origin of the development, through innovative materials synthesis, of a Cobalt free spinel/carbon-battery which is now commercialized and powering next generation plug in hybrid and pure electric vehicles (Nissan and Renault). He pioneered a totally new Li reactivity mechanism in transition metal oxide nanoparticles, named ‘conversion reactions’ that enables fast charging and better retention of the capacity. He instigated the development of the first fully renewable organic Li-ion battery with a carbon-neutral life cycle. In 2010, he took the concept of sustainable batteries one step further with the discovery of a totally new family of environmentally benign and easy to synthesize 3d-metal-fluorosulphates, capable of competing with the most praised materials for next generation EV’s.
Today, Professor Tarascon already anticipates to concerns about high costs and supply risks that hamper Li-based technologies in, for instance, mass storage applications. He explores innovative chemistries based on the cheap and abundant sodium (salt!) with promising results. His team contributed to the assembly of the first 18650-standard type sodium battery worldwide. This technology may be a serious contender for the storage of renewable energy. 9
Professor Tarascon received numerous and most prestigious national and international fellowships and awards. His (about) 80 patents are widely licensed and commercialized. Among his more than 600 research publications are over twenty ‘Nature’, ‘Nature Materials’ and ‘Science’ papers. His work was cited over 60,000 times resulting in an impressive h-index firmly above 100. These numbers may be meaningful to academics or funding agencies, yet are not the principal reason why we nominate Prof. Tarascon for a honorary doctorate. Indeed, his merits cannot be captured by counting publications, citations or bibliometric indices. We are truly impressed by:
his ability to discover new fundamental phenomena that open up entirely new research tracks; his visionary ideas that change the thinking and the direction of how current lithium-ion batteries are made and go beyond the lithium-ion technologies; his accomplishment of a successful marriage between true fundamental and relevant applied research all the way to commercialization; his judicious way of bringing researchers together in networks among academia and industry; his strong involvement in teaching and training young people, again in an international setting.
Ladies and gentlemen, Dear students, Last but not least: the choice of the Faculty of Sciences to nominate Professor Tarascon as honorary doctor is also inspired by the recent developments in this region and by the choice of our university and institute to focus our materials research on renewable energy generation and storage. Professor Tarascon, We hope that your achievements will be an inspiration to our researchers; an incentive for policymakers; and an encouragement to young people to pursue excellence and to continue to believe they can make an impact on society and on our planet through science. - Prof. dr. Marlies K. Van Bael (promotor), faculteit Wetenschappen
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Laudatio Martha C. Nussbaum When our societies are confronted with changes and challenges of dizzying variety and scope, we need bold thinkers who sharpen our conscience and redefine old truths. Thinkers who respond to the issues of their time and dare to expose their ideas even to the dangers of controversy. Martha Craven Nussbaum is such a thinker. Born in 1947 in New York, Professor Nussbaum went on to study theater and classics at New York University and – later on – philosophy at Harvard. There, she also obtained her PhD. An impressive career in academia and beyond would follow – teaching at some of the world’s most prestigious universities (Harvard, Brown and Oxford); and serving as research advisor at the World Institute of Development Economics Research in Helsinki. Since 1995, she is Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. In her very first bestseller – ‘The Fragility of Goodness’, published in 1986 – theater, classics and philosophy come together as Professor Nussbaum, through a close examination of the Ancient Greek tragedies, reflects how chance and luck influence the goodness of human kind. This ambitious book is nothing less than an exploration of people’s pursuit of happiness. It is about human vulnerability to uncontrollable circumstances – claiming that individuals committed to justice cannot escape peril; and that embracing our vulnerability is the key to realizing human good. ‘The Fragility of Goodness’ earned widespread academic and public acclaim. And over the next three decades, Martha Nussbaum would produce twenty other highly-praised books and hundreds of essays and articles. In those writings she unlids all sides of human nature – covering Aristotle, feminism, animal rights, poverty, religion, patriotism and much more. Richly argued, researched, reasoned and engaged works which seem to stem from a firm determination to make philosophy relevant to society. Professor Nussbaum’s words indeed articulate a deeply rooted conviction that philosophy should not be written in detachment from real life. Her work on the use of shame and disgust in law-making and policy are testament to that conviction. In ‘Hiding From Humanity’, a book from 2004, she argues shame and disgust are no reliable basis for any judgment because they assign ranks to people. Six years later, this work was followed by ‘From Disgust to Humanity’, analyzing the role disgust plays in law and public debate in the US. Martha Nussbaum makes a strong plea against the legal restrictions on gay Americans – discarding it as a politics of disgust which irrationally denies citizens equality before the law. But she goes beyond pointing to inherent weaknesses, dangers and injustices. In the book she also offers an alternative, going back to John Stuart Mill’s harm principle. This principle, Martha Nussbaum posits, could be used to limit individual liberties – but, at the same, it can protect citizens because it supports legal ideas like consent, majority age and privacy. With the same perseverance to unearth deeply entrenched ideas, Professor Nussbaum developed the capabilities approach, in close cooperation with economist and Nobel Prize laureate Amartya Sen. Being able to live a life of normal length; a healthy life; a life secure from violence and assault; being able to use your senses, to imagine, reason and think; being able to love, grieve and experience belonging; able to form a conception of what is good; being able to live a life without humiliation, a life where you are treated as a dignified human being and are able to engage in social interaction; being able to live with concern for and in relation to other species; able to play and enjoy recreational activities; and being able to live a life where you can make your own political decisions 11
and where you can hold property… These are the ten universal principles of human decency which Martha Nussbaum puts forward in her 2011 book ‘Creating Capabilities’. Ten indicators defining a developed, just society. The importance of this theory cannot be overestimated. The capabilities approach not only questions whether economic growth alone is an adequate indicator for measuring the development and success of a country. It actually redefines what it means to be ‘poor’. Over the years, the capabilities theory has grown in influence, even inspiring the creation of the United Nation’s Human Development Index. Addressing the issues of our time is also what drove Martha Nussbaum to shed light on what she called “the politics of fear” in the post Nine Eleven era. In the book ‘The New Religious Intolerance’ (published in 2012), she criticizes the rise of antireligious – antiMuslim – patriotism and probes the differences in view between the US and Europe on national identity. Professor Nussbaum suggests Europe to take a more inclusive definition of what it means to belong to a nation – a definition in which ethnicity and religion are far less important than a shared ideal of freedom. This is a message which, especially in the wake of the Paris and Brussels attacks, has resonated well throughout Europe. ‘Political Emotions: Why Love Matters For Justice’, which Martha Nussbaum wrote in 2013, also reads as a manual for times when societies are shattered by division and fear. In this work, Professor Nussbaum asks what is needed to achieve and sustain a society which aspires to justice and which inspires sacrifice for the common good. A society in which all people feel valued; a society which thrives on social activism. Her answer lies in politicians – quote – “reaching into the souls of their citizens and stirring their emotions”. This is an echo of Aristotle’s view that it is the State’s role to encourage “human flourishing”. From Martha Nussbaum we learn that you can foster a society of shared goals by activating love and compassion – two of the most powerful and positive emotions. And it is through symbols, rhetoric, music, dance, monuments – through arts and the humanities – that you can capture the hearts of citizens. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, The intellectual tapestry Martha Nussbaum weaves, pictures a society where resilience is the result of and empowered by justice, engagement, empathy and debate. Resilience as the sum of many actions taken by committed, knowledgeable citizens of the world who embrace their civic responsibilities. It is no surprise, then, that she has always provided such a compelling voice in support of education – one of the pillars of a strong, vibrant, democratic society. Making sure young people graduate with their ears, minds and mouths open, is a task we at Hasselt University take to heart. Professor Nussbaum, in the past decades you have changed the tenor of debate in more than one field. You have put all your being into articulating exactly what you think is right and just – with an unremitting commitment to excellence. You have shown many times that you would rather have lit one candle than curse the darkness. Your words are spoken and well heard, are written and well read. You are considered a giant of philosophy; one of the most influential philosophers of her time; a theorist of global justice; and even as someone who “undermines” (that is a quote) the inherited moral wisdom of millennia. No wonder that, over the years, you have received more than fifty honorary degrees from universities across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. Today, we are honoring you for the bold, sharp, engaged thinker you are. For the keen, sound and vivid way you observe past, present and future; come up with new paradigms and ideas; and imagine a more just and resilient world. It is, therefore, my great pleasure to nominate you honorary doctor of Hasselt University. – Prof. dr. Luc De Schepper, rector UHasselt 12
