NGJ (Norbert) Peeters, MA

Norbert Peeters is a lecturer at the Philosophy Group of Wageningen University. His research focuses on botanical philosophy, history of invasion ecology, environmental philosophy, and garden and landscape philosophy. He is currently completing his PhD on the 18th and 19th century origins of invasion ecology, with a particular emphasis on plants, and is also conducting research on the cultural and conceptual history of weeds and plant blindness. Alongside his research, he is committed to teaching philosophy to students in the natural sciences, especially in the fields of plant and environmental science.

As a writer, Norbert debuted in 2016 with Botanische revolutie: de plantenleer van Charles Darwin (KNNV Uitgeverij, Zeist), which explores the botanical insights of Charles Darwin. This was followed by Rumphius’ Kruidboek: verhalen uit de Ambonese flora (2020, KNNV Uitgeverij, Zeist), centered on a seventeenth-century herbal from Ambon in the Moluccas, and Wildernis-vernis: Een filosoof in het Vondelpark (2021), a reflection on wilderness and garden philosophy. He also co-edited Darwins engelen: Vrouwelijke geleerden in de tijd van Charles Darwin (2018, Atlas Contact, Amsterdam), and the facsimile edition Flora Batava: de wilde planten van Nederland (2023, Uitgeverij Lannoo, Tielt).

Norbert regularly appears in media, including radio, podcasts and television, and is a public speaker on topics related to philosophy, botany and ecology.

Contact: Norbert.peeters@wur.nl