cobbenhagencenter@tilburguniversity.edu
Prof. dr. Erik Borgman, Academic Director
Dr. Liesbeth Hoeven, Projectmanager & postdoc researcher
THE
FOUNDATIONS OF THE
TILBURG COBBENHAGEN CENTER
The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center seeks to create a new impulse in the debate on values and
values in scientific research on the campus of Tilburg University. Why is science important and
what does it mean to be a responsible scientist? The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center draws its
inspiration from Christian and Humanistic traditions and connects these to questions surrounding
identity and meaningfulness relevant to today’s society.
Understanding Society
In January 2014, the construction of the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center was initiated. The center
connects Tilburg University’s mission of Understanding Society with ideas inspired by Christian
and Humanistic traditions.
Today’s society searches for philosophical orientations and moral values in various
places or – at times – heavily discusses said orientations and values. In line with Catholic social
thought (‘Katholiek Sociaal Denken’), the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center presumes this
development is not an indication that society is threatened and the sense of community is lost,
but rather that within these places our future society is build.
The aspiration of the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center is to explore the plausibility of this
perspective through innovative research in direct connection with current developments and
societal discussions. Through this research, the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center does not only
contribute to the education within Tilburg University, but also positions itself in ongoing societal
debates on religions, philosophy, ethics and concepts of meaning.
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In this way, the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center aligns itself with the ideas of Martinus
Cobbenhagen, founding father of the ‘Roomsch-Katholieke Handelsschool’ (Roman Catholic
Economic University). Cobbenhagen viewed the field of economics, a subject central to the
Roman Catholic Economic University, as a social science. This implied that he not only
considered the field of economics to entail describing, explaining and understanding the factual
operations of society, but is also required to deliver an active contribution to its future. In this
regard economists were expected to cultivate a vision of what a good society is. In line with this
thinking, the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center expresses the conviction that the practice of science
geared towards ‘Understanding Society’ cannot and should not be value-free. Therefore,
scientists should develop an explicit and reflective vision on the contribution their field of
research makes to society.
VISION
Valorization
The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center was constructed as a response to the need to reconnect
scientific research with society. Currently, the term ‘valorization’, is most commonly viewed as a
process in which scientific knowledge or tools developed within the scientific framework are
exchanged for financial means and are made available to societal parties to help achieve their
goals. In practice, however, it appears that while this vision on ‘valorization’ does lead to
economic profit, it does not per definition result into social or cultural gains. In other words,
society does not benefit from this type of ‘valorization’.
Within the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center a different vision on valorization is upheld. The
starting point of this vision is that societies are not viewed as static, but rather as dynamic
entities. Societal systems are continuously faced with various bottlenecks and issues. For
example, sectors of society wither away, connections disappear, and communities are under
severe pressure or even fall apart. However, within each of these systems there are also actors
continuously working on building community, making connections, and creating new ways of
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living together. This approach finds its roots in the philosophical visions on (human) existence
and ultimately ethical values and moral norms. The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center brings together
actors, analyses their conduct and confronts their visions and values with one another. Herewith,
insights are cultivated with regards to the complexity of the situation and the various values and
perspectives that may play a role in it. The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center communicates these
insights with the societal parties involved so that they can adjust their goals, reconsider their
values and redefine their perspectives accordingly.
In this context, valorization is not focused on assisting and empowering one single
societal actor in achieving their goals. Instead, valorization contributes to the democratic
reflection within society and to the reflectivity of ongoing societal processes. Here valorization
becomes the practice of adding value to society by increasing the scientific engagement with
society through ongoing social innovation.
COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
Organizational Structure
The vision on valorization used by the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center has a significant effect on its
organizational structures. The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center consists out of communities in which
people from a particular societal field, who are involved in various practical, managerial, or
scientific ways, come together to connect, to learn from each other and to formulate relevant
research questions. Within the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center these learning communities are
denoted as Communities of Practice.
Communities of Practice bring together societal actors who have a common societal field
and/or are involved with a certain societal issue. On the basis of this shared involvement, it
becomes possible to unite scientists with a wide spectrum of actors who are involved with a
certain societal practice and/or are connected to attempts at solving societal issues or bottlenecks.
At the same time, scientists are not reduced to distributors of knowledge and tools to societal
actors, nor are societal actors reduced to sources of data for scientists. All play a distinct part in
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defining the situation, identifying desirable and possible innovations, and conceptualizing crucial
principles and values.
The amount of Communities of Practice working from this vision on valorization is in
principle infinite. The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center is constantly on the lookout for new
opportunities in starting new Communities of Practice. Herewith, this initiative is well suited for
one or more societal actors. However, experience learns that it is rarely possible to connect
directly to existing societal communities. Hence, to ensure a productive and valuable bringing
together of potential partners, these communities require an explicit vision on the functioning of
the community by one or more scientists connected to the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center. In due
time, both the insights in nature and coherence of the societal field of the community, as well as
the identification and commitment of involved actors may change. On the basis of these changes
Communities of Practice can be split, combined, annulled, and new communities can be build.
PRODUCTS
Issues of identity
The Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center develops products that, from a Christian and Humanistic
tradition, gives a new impulse to the debate on values within science. The center, in cooperation
with Academic Forum, seeks out questions and issues surrounding identity that concern society
at large. Soon the rapport ‘A Learning Society. Een universitaire gemeenschap met toekomst’
(freely translated: ‘A Learning Society. An academic community with a future’), will be
presented. Furthermore, a book publication is being prepared with the title: ‘Excellence with a
Soul. De profilering van een universiteit in de traditie van Martinus Cobbenhagen’ (freely
translated: ‘Excellence with a Soul. The profile of a university in the traditions of Martinus
Cobbenhagen’).
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A Learning Society
In 2012, Academic Forum presented the rapport ‘De waarde(n) van de wetenschap.
Wetenschappers en studenten aan Tilburg University in gesprek’1 (freely translated: ‘The
value(s) of science. Scientists and students of Tilburg University in dialogue’). On the basis of a
series of interviews, this report gave an account of the questions of identity and values present in
the minds of deans, other scholars and students of Tilburg University. The three subareas of
education, research and valorization were central in this report. In fact, in the foreword Koen
Becking wrote:
‘I hope and expect that this report will be a starting point to further the conversation
within the university’s community on what binds and motivates us to work for the benefit
of science and society. Not without obligation, but always with an eye on the future
(freely translated).2’
The sub-report ‘A Learning Society’ that will be available mid 2015 responds to this wish. On
the basis of a new series of interviews with the university’s community, the Academic Forum, in
cooperation with the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center, gives a revised reflection of the two-fold aim
of the ‘Values in science’ project: 1.) In what way do the conversations with employees revive
the reflection on values in relation to the practice of science at Tilburg University? 2.) What new
perspective arises within the academic debate on values on the one hand, and the identity of
Tilburg University – ‘inspired by the Catholic tradition’ – on the other hand? Both questions will
1
De waarde(n) van de wetenschap. Wetenschappers en studenten aan Tilburg University in gesprek, Tilburg:
Tilburg University (2012). Retrieved 15 June 2015 from: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/upload/1cde3b70-555d4834-8e57-6e7e5692ea53_waardenwetenschap.pdf
2
Ibid, p. 5.
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be explicitly linked to one of the most prominent pillars of the strategic plan 2014-2017, namely:
aspiring to the future shape of Tilburg University as ‘A Learning Society’3.
Excellence with a Soul
Together with Academic Forum, the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center is currently working on a
book-project titled: ‘Excellence with a Soul. De profilering van een universiteit in de traditie van
Martinus Cobbenhagen’ (freely translated: ‘Excellence with a Soul. The profile of a university in
the traditions of Martinus Cobbenhagen’).
In his book ‘Excellence without a Soul’4, Harry Lewis, who has worked as a professor
and dean of Harvard University for decades, explains what happens when academia is ruled by
mechanisms of the market place. He argues that the idea that universities benefit from the money
and status acquired from external parties diverts academic institutions from their own goals and
mission. Moreover, students are shaped into professional academics for whom successful careers
and a calculated future are within reach. They are taught everything, as argued by Lewis, except
practical wisdom that teaches them to take responsibility for their own lives and society to which
they will actively contribute.
It appears universities worldwide are struggling with this issue. How can the university’s
mission be constructed from both an intellectual and a social perspective? Often universities
choose to operate from one of these approaches, as will be described in this book-project.
Whereas the London School of Economics and political Sciences shapes itself as an institution
where the study of worldwide societal mechanisms are to be part of their core business, the
University of Central America (UCA) in El Salvador focuses on contributing to the construction
of Civil Society through their own elaborated conception of it, since the end of the country’s civil
3
Het verschil maken: Strategisch Plan 2014-2017, Tilburg: Tilburg University (2014). p. 19-24. Retrieved 15 June
2015 from: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/upload/12a47c45-2f44-4777-a18961f6dd61c47a_STRATEGISCH_PLAN_NL.pdf
4
Harry R. Lewis, Excellence without a soul, New York: Public Affairs (2006).
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war. Both universities shape their mission from a unified set of values and convictions rooted in
an old tradition. This historical continuity gives their profile the portrayal of a strong foundation
and conviction.
But what about Tilburg University? By which traditions is Tilburg University led? And
how do the values anchored in this tradition work in determining its mission?
WEBSITE
For more information about the Tilburg Cobbenhagen Center (e.g. media items, agenda, and
contact-details), please visit our website at:
www.tilburguniversity.edu/humanities/cobbenhagencenter
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