Maarten Doorman
Professor Maarten Doorman (b. 1957) is a philosopher and writer. He teaches the philosophy of culture at Maastricht University and is Endowed Professor of History of German Culture at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
He has contributed to the national newspapers NRC, de Volkskrant and the weekly De Groene Amsterdammer. His works include Hunter in the Forest (2023), a book about the painful history of four large-scale armed conflicts, Near and Far (2018), a collection of essays on history and art, and Daphne’s Navel (2016), a book on art and political engagement.
More Maarten Doorman
The Romantic Imperative
Modernism and postmodernism are the pivotal concepts that Western man uses in his attempts to come to grips with his situation in the early years of this new millennium. But in The Romantic Imperative, philosopher and poet Maarten Doorman shows us that our contemporary way of life is actually influenced more than we may realise by the Romantic revolution of the early nineteenth century. For it was then that people began seeing themselves not as creatures who existed, but as creatures who became, who were in possession of an authentic ‘I’ that was more than the sum of their strict societal roles, and who had received the calling to be creative.
Hunter in the Forest
Given that France and Germany played a leading role in the formation and expansion of the European Union together, it is easy to forget that for centuries they were arch-enemies. Today, their close military and economic cooperation appears more crucial than ever — but will it last? Cultural philosopher and poet Maarten Doorman turns to the enduring images of their violent history to understand how their mutual perceptions have informed the subtle balance of power between them since 1945.