Projects per year
Personal profile
Quote
“Past and failed innovations tell us as much about innovation as contemporary successful ones”
Research profile
Krist Vaesen is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy of Innovation, at the department Philosophy & Ethics, and founding member of the Eindhoven Meta-Science Center (META/e). Krist has worked on a wide range of topics, including technological normativity, the extended mind hypothesis, the epistemology of cognitive artifacts, the cognitive bases of tool use, theories of cultural and technological evolution, foundational issues in human origins research, the philosophy of scientific models (e.g., models of innovation), and the history of 20th Century Anglo-American philosophy. Currently, he devotes almost all of his research time on meta-scientific questions, and has published on, among other things, science funding, the perks and perils of inter-disciplinary research, the causes and cures of PhD attrition, academic research values, scientific coordination, and research integrity. Krist is preparing a book about the replication and other crises in science, tentatively entitled "Neophilia--why our obsession with innovation leads to bad science".
Academic background
Krist Vaesen studied applied biology (1998) and philosophy (2003) at the University of Leuven, Belgium. He obtained his doctoral degree from TU/e (2008) with a philosophical essay on artifacts and norms. He was a post-doctoral researcher in the NWO-program “Things that make us smart: cognitive artifacts and extended minds” (2008-2012), and was awarded an excellence grant from TU/e’s Executive Board for his work on this program. In 2012, he became an assistant professor in philosophy at TU/e. He obtained a Vidi-grant in 2014 for the program “Darwinizing culture: the status of cultural evolutionary theory as a science” (2014-2019). Since 2015, he has been a research fellow at the Human Origins Group, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. In 2018, he became an elected member of the Eindhoven Young Academy of Engineering.
He has published in prominent general science journals (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, PLoS ONE), biology journals (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B), anthropology journals (Evolutionary Anthropology, Current Anthropology), and philosophy journals (Biology & Philosophy, Philosophy of Science). His research has been covered by various national and international media outlets (Times Higher Education, Volkskrant, Radio 1/VPRO, BNR News Radio, Royal Society’s Chemistry World).
External positions
Research fellow, Leiden University
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 2 Finished
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Darwinizing culture: The status of cultural evolutionary theory as a science
Vaesen, K. (Project Manager) & Acerbi, A. (Project member)
15/12/14 → 14/12/19
Project: Research direct
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Norms in Knowledge
Royakkers, L. M. M. (Project member), Houkes, W. (Project member) & Vaesen, K. (Project member)
1/09/03 → 1/04/09
Project: Research direct
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Academic research values: Conceptualization and initial steps of scale development
Kis, A. (Corresponding author), Tur, E. M., Vaesen, K., Houkes, W. & Lakens, D., 25 Mar 2025, In: PLoS ONE. 20, 3, 24 p., e0318086.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile12 Downloads (Pure) -
How qualitative criteria can improve the assessment process of interdisciplinary research proposals
Schölvinck, A. F., Uygun-Tunç, D., Lakens, D., Vaesen, K. & Hessels, L. K. (Corresponding author), 2024, In: Research Evaluation. 33, 12 p., rvae049.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
Academic Research Values: Conceptualization and Initial Steps of Measure Development
Kis, A., Tur, E. M., Vaesen, K., Houkes, W. & Lakens, D., 19 Jun 2023, PsyArXiv Preprints, p. 1-44, 44 p.Research output: Working paper › Preprint › Academic
File233 Downloads (Pure) -
Leaving academia: PhD attrition and unhealthy research environments
Kis, A., Tur, E. M., Lakens, D., Vaesen, K. & Houkes, W., 28 Jan 2022, PsyArXiv Preprints, 44 p.Research output: Working paper › Academic
Open Access -
Leaving academia: PhD attrition and unhealthy research environments
Kis, A. (Corresponding author), Tur, E. M., Lakens, D., Vaesen, K. & Houkes, W., 5 Oct 2022, In: PLoS ONE. 17, 10, 24 p., e0274976.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Open AccessFile22 Citations (Scopus)458 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Ethics of Research Funding: pilot study dataset
Conix, S. (Creator), De Block, A. (Creator), Vaesen, K. (Creator) & De Peuter, S. (Creator), Zenodo, 31 Jul 2022
Dataset
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Supplementary material from "Social information use and social information waste"
Vaesen, K. (Creator), Morin, O. (Creator), Jacquet, P. O. (Creator) & Acerbi, A. (Creator), The Royal Society, 12 Apr 2021
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5372456, https://rs.figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Social_information_use_and_social_information_waste_/5372456
Dataset
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Ethics of Research Funding: A survey
Conix, S. (Creator), De Peuter, S. (Creator), De Block, A. (Creator) & Vaesen, K. (Creator), Zenodo, 24 Feb 2023
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7673890, https://zenodo.org/record/7673890
Dataset
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Dataset: "Inbreeding, Allee effects and stochasticity might be sufficient to account for Neanderthal extinction"
Vaesen, K. (Creator), Scherjon, F. (Creator), Hemerik, L. (Creator) & Verpoorte, A. (Creator), PLoS ONE, 24 Sept 2019
Dataset
Prizes
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NWO Vidi Award : The Darwinisation of culture
Vaesen, K. (Recipient), 2013
Prize: NWO › Vidi › Scientific
Activities
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Hoe verandert cultuur?
Boon, E. (Organiser) & Vaesen, K. (Organiser)
5 Apr 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Workshop, seminar, course or exhibition › Popular
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Acta Biotheoretica (Journal)
Vaesen, K. (Editorial board member)
2019 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial activity › Scientific
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Why and how to reform current science funding practices
Vaesen, K. (Speaker)
22 Nov 2018Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Scientific
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A more egalitarian future
Vaesen, K. (Speaker)
18 Apr 2018Activity: Talk or presentation types › Keynote talk › Scientific
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A partly externalist account of the course of 20th-Century Anglo-American philosophy
Vaesen, K. (Speaker) & Katzav, J. K. (Speaker)
24 Oct 2017Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk › Scientific
Courses
Press/Media
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Waarom sommige promovendi overwegen te stoppen
Kis, A., Tur, E. M., Lakens, D., Vaesen, K. & Houkes, W. N.
11/11/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Why some PhD students may decide to leave academia
Kis, A., Tur, E. M., Lakens, D., Houkes, W. N. & Vaesen, K.
10/11/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Het vuur verspreidde zich razendsnel door de prehistorie
20/08/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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El intercambio cultural entre humanos comenzó hace 400.000 años
18/08/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment