Alumni Interview: Arend van Campen

Arend van Campen was born in the Netherlands, and has just released a book on corporate responsibility and ethics based on his Masteral work at Warnborough College. He graduated in 2013. We catch up with him for a few minutes:

Where do you live now and what do you do?
I live in Switzerland and work as a trainer and teacher in the Oil & Gas Industry.  I focus on the achievement of operational excellence through Business Ethics, Social Responsibility, Health, Safety and Ethics (HSE), and Sustainability.

What is your fondest memory about the time you were a student at Warnborough?
My intermediate visit and meeting Julian Ng and the staff in Canterbury. I remember it was very cold that January, but that week helped me to push through and finally complete my thesis. And, of course, I will never forget my graduation day.

Is there any difference between what you researched at Warnborough and what you are doing now?
Yes and no. My aim is to use my research to integrate Ethics as a moral philosophy into a too deterministic world of science (oil, gas, business) that until now only focuses on empirical proof. My research findings are now informed by quantum physics which opens up an entirely new and exciting vision and momentum. Philosophy can no longer be ignored as a part of the total worldview. It is the world view we see through philosophy as it asks all the questions. Separatism due to Newtonian insight is coming to a halt. Just in time I believe, but groups like the Neoconservatives, Brussels bureaucrats, etc. won’t listen just yet.

So why did you choose such a fascinating field?
I have a passion for our fellow beings, human and non human, and social responsibility – understanding that social cohesion equals peace.

What’s next for you?
I’d like to become a professor of ethics and sustainability (I already am a philosopher). Henri David Thoreau wrote that nowadays there are many professors of philosophy, but no philosophers.

Are you working on anything at the moment?
Only on my speech as the Chairman for a conference on operational excellence for tank terminals in Dubai.

Do you have a favourite quote?
‘When the wrong man uses the right means, the right means work in the wrong way.’

What were you like at school when you were a kid?
I was not too interested in school.  I was always playing football or chasing pretty girls.

And what advice would you give to your younger self?
Forgive yourself, even if you have made mistakes, because they were meant for learning.

Do you get any time to relax?
Yes, I go fishing. Fishing teaches the first important virtue: patience…  Also, I enjoy playing the harmonica or guitar.

How can readers discover more about you and your work?
If you want to read my research thesis, please go to www.creazene.org  –  you can download the ebook/pdf version of ‘Safety of Ethics’ for free (you’re welcome to donate).  For information about my training work, check out www.tankterminaltraining.com