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Showing posts from July, 2025

Mesocosm and Anthropocosm: Reflecting on Tom Hannes’ Doctoral Defence

On 16 June 2025, I had the pleasure of attending Tom Hannes’ doctoral defence in Eindhoven (Netherlands). It was a generous and thoughtful exchange, shaped by art and philosophy, and animated by an ecological sensitivity that resonated deeply with my own research journey. A World of Beginners Tom Hannes' doctoral defence 16 June 2025, TU Eindhoven, Netherlands 📷 Greet Angèle De Baets Doctor Tom’s work offers a contemporary view of the world through an Eastern lens. Drawing on Buddhism as a methodological framework, he explores interaction as relational, ecological, and ideally situated in what he calls the mesocosmic critical zone : the thin layer between the microcosm (the self, the soul, reason, innermost feelings…) and the macrocosm (the cosmic Principle, God, nirvana, Truth…). The mesocosm is the in-between zone in which relations develop that are beneficial, even fundamental, to and actually the very goal of a meaningful life. What I sensed during the defence was not just an...