PhD Defence Friso Timmenga

We are pleased to announce that Friso Timmenga will defend his PhD thesis 'Learning to think differently' on 2 July 2026 in the Auditorium of Campus Fryslân, Wirdumerdijk 34, 8911 CE Leeuwarden.

It is possible to follow the defence online via the livestream.

Programme:

• 13:30 - Layperson’s talk

• 14:00 - PhD defence

In the lead-up to his PhD defence, Friso Timmenga recently appeared on the Dutch radio programme Glasnost to discuss his research, Learning to Think Differently. During the interview, he reflected on the role of cultural diversity in philosophy and education, and explored how engaging with different philosophical traditions can expand our ways of thinking. The interview is available here.

About the thesis

In recent years, there has been increasing attention to non-Western philosophy. Concepts such as Ubuntu from Africa and Buen Vivir from Latin America are being discussed more and more. Schools and universities are also trying to broaden their philosophy curricula by including more non-European thinkers.

At the same time, these efforts raise important questions. What exactly is philosophy? How is philosophy related to culture? Which thinkers should we teach, and why them in particular?

In his dissertation Learning to Think Differently, Friso Timmenga seeks answers to these questions. According to him, philosophy is not primarily about formulating conclusive arguments, but rather about experiences that change the way you see the world. This means that when selecting philosophical materials for teaching, we should always ask: does this help broaden students’ perspectives?

That question is difficult to answer. After all, experiences are personal. This means we cannot precisely measure how valuable a particular philosophy is. Nevertheless, Friso Timmenga argues that this need not be a problem. He compares philosophy to art to show that, even without objective standards, we can arrive at shared value judgments.

You can read the entire thesis here.