Education
Philosophy, University of Amsterdam. Infla: Personal influences included Plessner and Pos. Philosophical influences included Hegel.
Nietzsche and Heidegger.
Philosophy, University of Amsterdam. Infla: Personal influences included Plessner and Pos. Philosophical influences included Hegel.
Nietzsche and Heidegger.
Journalist; Professor of Philosophy, Batavia, 1946- 58. Professor of Social Philosophy and Philosophy of History. Leyden, 1958-1973.’.
Main publications
(1935) Antithesen [Antitheses], Haarlem: Bohn. (1938) Crisis van den mensch [Crisis of Man], Haarlem: Bohn.
(1945) Moderne doodsproblematiek [Modern Problems of Death], Delft: Delftsche Uitg. Mij.
(1949) Onsocratische gesprekken [Unsocratric Conversations], Amsterdam: MeulenhotT.
(1956) Kratos. Mens en macht [Kratos, Man and Power], Antwerp: Standaard.
(1964-1965) Wijsgerig-sociologische verkenningen [Philosophical-sociological Investigations], Arnhem: Van Loghum Slaterus.
(1968) Ideeen en idolen [Ideas and Idols], Arnhem: Van Loghum Slaterus.
(1972) Argumenten, sceptiseh en anti-sceptisch [Arguments, Sceptical and Anti-sceptical], Meppel: Boom.
(1979) Niet te geloven [Unbelievable], Deventer: Van Loghum Slaterus.
One of the main issues in Beerling’s philosophy is the problem of death, not as the end of life, but as an essential part of it. From here a sense of finiteness and of scepticism results. Belief in God is no more than an anthropological fact negating the real conditio Humana.
From this imminenthuman viewpoint Beerling analyses social phenomena like alienation, labour and power. He considers them all in a Hegelian-dialectical manner and sees ideology as a necessary tool to handle man's situation, although philosophy has to be very critical of it. Wisdom remains the necessary, but always unattainable, aim of philosophical reflection.