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Kees Bertens: Exploring philosophy, ethics

KEES BERTENS: (JP/Setiono Sugiharto) There is a fine line between religion and philosophy, but as both a priest and philosopher Kees Bertens knows exactly when not to cross it

Setiono Sugiharto (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, December 24, 2008

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Kees Bertens: Exploring philosophy, ethics

KEES BERTENS: (JP/Setiono Sugiharto)

There is a fine line between religion and philosophy, but as both a priest and philosopher Kees Bertens knows exactly when not to cross it.

As a prolific philosopher who has penned numerous books on applied ethics, Bertens knows when to preach at the altar, and when to think and reflect on what to write.

Often, Bertens is confronted with the questions of relevance and obstacles of applying ethics in such practices as medicine, business and law.

When asked such questions, Bertens usually avoids direct answers.

Instead, he says in ethics "we are not preaching, but reflecting on and pondering over why and how a phenomenon occurs, what the consequences of its happening are, and what the best thing is to be done".

Bertens' fervor in philosophy grew when he was still in the seminary. Traditionally in the Catholic Church, would-be priests are obliged to study philosophy for two years before taking theology.

"When I first encountered philosophy in the higher seminary, I was soon very interested in it and felt I needed to learn more," Bertens recalls.

Born in Tilburg, the Netherlands, in 1936, Bertens came to Indonesia as a missionary in 1968. He was assigned by the Catholic Church not to do pastoral duties, but to carry out a mission in the field of education.

Entering the Missionary of the Sacred Heart (M.S.C) in 1955, Bertens was ordained a priest in 1960 and dedicated his life to his mission by lecturing at universities and giving a Sunday service at Saint John the Evangelist in Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta.

Bertens belongs to the last generation of foreign missionaries who have helped develop education in Indonesia.

Bertens' predecessors have contributed a great deal to Indonesia's education system; by founding catholic-based schools like Kanisius and Santa Ursula senior high school in Jakarta, Santo Albertus senior high school in Malang (East Java) and many more.

Bertens' continuing passion to provide quality education has been proven in his 40-year sojourn in Indonesia, as well as in his twenty-five years lecturing at Atma Jaya Catholic University.

"People still need quality education, and it is indeed a challenge for me to make a small contribution to the education system here," Bertens says.

Studying philosophy and theology at the seminary in the Netherlands, Bertens continued his studies, majoring in philosophy at the University of Leuven, Belgium (one of the oldest universities in Europe), where he earned his Ph.D. in 1968.

In that same year, Bertens began his sojourn in Indonesia, teaching systematic philosophy and history of philosophy at several institutions including Pineleng Seminary in Manado, North Sulawesi; Tomohon Theology Faculty in North Sulawesi; and Driyarkara School of Philosophy, Jakarta.

Bertens served as director at the Center for Ethics, Atma Jaya University, from 1984 to 1995. He was also appointed chairman of the Association of Indonesian Lecturers of Ethics for an eight-year term.

While teaching philosophy, Bertens wrote three books which are now used as reference material by other philosophy teachers. These are Sejarah Filsafat Yunani (History of Greek Philosophy), Ringkasan Sejarah Filsafat (Summary of the History of Philosophy) and Filsafat Barat Kontemporer (Contemporary Western Philosophy).

It was not until Bertens was assigned to teach ethics at the Faculty of Economics and Medicine of Atma Jaya University, however, that he began to explore ethics -- a branch of philosophy dealing with morality.

Bertens' exploration of ethics gave birth to his new books that are now used widely as textbooks for students majoring in economics and medicine. These books include Pengantar Etika Bisnis (Introduction to Business Ethics), Perspektif Etika (Perspectives on Ethics), Aborsi sebagai Masalah Etika (Abortion as an Ethical Problem) and Sketsa-sketsa Moral (Sketches of Morality).

Many of Bertens' books epitomize applied ethics, which has gained popularity worldwide since the 1970s.

Ethics, Bertens says, was first applied in the field of medicine and life sciences which was later called bioethics. The growing interest in applied ethics provided impetus to the emergence of business ethics and ethics for other professions.

Bertens emphasizes that ethics -- in the sense of ethical reflection -- must be part of professional education.

"During schooling, students must be acquainted with the ethical aspects of their profession," he says.

However, he warned that teaching ethics to students will be no guarantee they will apply it in their professions.

"But as teachers, we have moral responsibility of directing them to the right path," he believed.

"Students must be aware that business will ruin if it is not run ethically. For this, ample evidence such as the tragically ruined Enron American Energy Company and WorldCom has shown us how important the role of ethics is in business."

Though many of his writings were applied ethics-oriented, he said that certain ethical principles, such as do no harm applies universally to all professions, without denying the possibility of a principle which applies only in a certain profession, not the others.

When asked why only few students are passionate in studying ethics and philosophy, Bertens argued that most Indonesian students are rather pragmatic in their attitude.

For subjects like these, he said they take the exam and then are ready to forget what they have learned before.

"Unlike pharmacy, medicine and law, philosophy and ethics aren't really enjoyed by students...," he said.

Quoting a Roman Catholic scholar and priest John Henry Newman, he said that philosophy gives an education of the mind whose impacts will linger in minds wherever they are and what kinds of profession they are taking.

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