My research focuses on issues in social epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of religion. Currently, most of it is in collective epistemology and political epistemology: can groups have beliefs and knowledge, are there collective intellectual virtues, what determines the epistemic performance of groups, how do people form, maintain, and reason about their political beliefs? I also apply these issues in thinking about the epistemic qualities of liberal democracy.
prof. dr. ir. Jeroen de Ridder
Full Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Epistemology and Metaphysics
Full Professor, CLUE+
Research
Education
- Ph.D. in Philosophy, Delft University of Technology, 2007
- M.A. in Philosophy cum laude, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 2007
- M.Sc. in Systems Engineering and Policy Analysis cum laude, Delft University of Technology, 2000
Teaching
I teach epistemology, philosophy of science, business ethics, and – if I get the opportunity – philosophy of religion.
Grants
- The impact of online battles: Use and implications of political conflict frames in a digital media environment
(with Sanne Kruikemeier (ASCoR, UvA) and Rens Vliegenthart (ASCoR, UvA))
NWO Open Competition for Digitalization SSH, 2020–2024 - Knowledgeable Democracy: A Social-Epistemological Inquriy
NWO Vidi project, 2016–2022 - The Epistemic Responsibility of the University
(with René van Woudenberg and Rik Peels)
Templeton World Charity Foundation, 2016–2019 - Science Beyond Scientism
(with René van Woudenberg, Gijsbert van den Brink, and Gerrit Glas)
Templeton World Charity Foundation, 2012–2015 - Commercializing Science and the Flow of Knowledge
NWO Veni project, 2010–2014
Ancillary activities
- De Ridder Onderwijs en trainingen | Gouda | Directeur/eigenaar | 2020-01-01 - present
- Driestar educatief | Gouda | Lid wetenschappelijke adviesraad | 2023-09-01 - 2028-08-31
- College voor Toetsen en Examens | Utrecht | Voorzitter schrijfcommissie syllabus Filosofie | 2024-09-01 - 2025-12-31
- KNAW | Amsterdam | Voorzitter schrijfcommissie Nederlandse Gedragscode Wetenschappelijke Integriteit | 2025-02-01 - 2026-06-30
Ancillary activities are updated daily

Publicaties