Bart Engelen
Moral and Political Philosopher
RESEARCH PROJECTS
I work on all kinds of issues related to ethics, political philosophy and economics, including (online) manipulation, (in)equality and (in)ustice.
If you can understand Dutch, you can hear more about my research in this interview. I am currently working on manuscripts related to (1) personalized influencing and (2) on what agency can still mean in today's age of influence (Dutch book with Thomas Nys, to be published with Alfabet Uitgevers).
Together with Alan Thomas and Alfred Archer, I wrote a book on the many reasons why economic inequalities suck: 'Extravagance and Misery: The Emotional Regime of Market Societies' (Oxford University Press, 2025).
I was the principal investigator of a project on the role of exemplars in character building and am currently member of the research consortia DIGIQUITY4HEALTH and the Europe Horizon project AI4POL.
EDUCATION & CAREER
I have studied philosophy at the University of Leuven (Belgium). In 2007, I defended my PhD on 'Rationality and Institutions' at its Institute of Philosophy, where I continued working as a postdoc and lecturer until I moved to Tilburg University (NL) in 2014.
At Tilburg, I teach courses on social and political philosophy and ethics (including business ethics) and try to reach people through my research, often in collaboration with lots of interesting colleagues.
At Tilburg, I have taken up multiple responsibilities, such as service teaching coordinator (philosophy courses in non-philosophy Bachelor programs), academic director of our Philosophy Master and 'program leader' (head of research) of our wonderful Department of Philosophy.
I currently coordinate the 'Ethics, Business and Justice' research cluster and member at the Faculty Council.
