Profile

Belgian by birth (1941), Portuguese by marriage (1980).

Holds a degree and PhD in Philosophy and in Philosophy and Letters from the Faculté des Sciences Philosophiques and the Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres of the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL, Belgium). Additionally, he earned a degree in Theology and completed the coursework for a degree in Biblical Sciences at the Pontifical Gregorian University (PUG, Rome).

Member of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (Brussels, 1968-1972 and 1973-1977). Professor (permanent appointment, 1977) at the Faculté des Sciences Philosophiques at UCL, Louvain. Full Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, NOVA University of Lisbon (Visiting Professor, 1979-1980; Invited Professor, 1981-1986; Permanent Faculty, 1986). Visiting Full Professor at several institutions, including: University of Coimbra, University of Porto, Portuguese Catholic University (Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, 1988-2022), Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences, then part of the Technical University of Lisbon, University of the Azores, Lecturer at the National Defence Institute (1981-2006), the Higher Military Institutes (of all three branches of the Armed Forces), and the National Institute of Administration (2001-2011).

Co-founder of the Centre for Bioethics Studies (since 1986). Member of the National Council of Ethics for the Life Sciences (1991-2015), serving as Vice-President during its fourth term. President of the Ethics Committee of the then Higher School of Health at the Portuguese Catholic University.

Director of the Association of Friends of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in Portugal. Corresponding Member (2002) and Full Member (2012) of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences. In February 2016, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword by President Aníbal Cavaco Silva.