Introduction
Welcome to the Maieutics School website, dear visitor! The following is a summary of what drives and envisions the Maieutics School.
The founder of this school is Hans Clement, an academically trained philosopher and author of, among others, the books shown here on the right. To give a substantive yet quick impression of the philosophical thinking on which the Maieutics School is based, we conveniently quote the text on the back cover of the booklet Unconditional Love, published in 2023:
“In the book Unconditional Love, author Hans Clement searches for a philosophical worldview in which the word ‘love’ is central. In 2022, he published his two-volume work Love as a Basis Philosophical Concept. Western and Eastern Philosophical History as seen from the Near-Death Experience. Underlying this view are two universal experiences: the experience of finitude and that of infinity. By now, both experiences have been described in detail by philosophers and scientists, so that taken together they provide a fascinating view of life.
The finitude experience (or ‘doubt experience’) is well known. Phenomena such as failure, betrayal, mortality, fear, grief or pain can sometimes be linked directly to our own lives. Many a philosopher has started philosophising as a result. Indeed, the finite experience raises serious questions. Why do humans and animals suffer? What kind of world do we actually live in, in which there is so much suffering? What is the point of such a dubious existence? Why is there anything at all and not rather nothing?
The infinity experience (or ‘totality experience’) is of a completely different order. People all over the world undergo it. The best-known variant is the near-death experience (nde). The main lesson from that metaphysical experience is that everything is essentially made of love. Experiencers argue that love is not just an emotion, but the supporting ground under all reality. This means that human beings too are at their core made of pure love. Therein, then, lies the meaning of his life: the (re)discovery and manifestation of that infinitely loving core on this planet defined by finitude.”
The Maieutics School is in fact nothing but a concrete elaboration of the above thoughts. Among other things, it constitutes a call for more research into and teaching about special, human experiences that enhance human consciousness – both individually and collectively. Research and teaching can take place through literature reviews, but also through interviews, surveys, meetings (conferences) and so on.
Furthermore, the Maieutics School aims to offer a listening ear to experiencers who just want to tell their story. That is what the so-called Philosophical Practice is about.
Since some 90 per cent of children in critical condition undergo an NDE, there must be many young people in the Netherlands who have nowhere to go with their stories. That is why the Maieutics School also wants to draw explicit attention to these young people.
Finally, through tutorials we try to make the sometimes difficult metaphysical insights accessible to everyone.
