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A Lifetime of Scholarship and Global Engagement

Gerrit De Vylder

Awakening to the Middle Way in Economics & Society

Gerrit De Vylder is a distinguished academic, researcher, and author whose work bridges history, economics, philosophy, and intercultural studies. With an international career spanning Europe, Asia, and beyond, he is widely recognized for his contributions to scholarship, teaching, and global dialogue.

Gerrit De Vylder obtained Master’s degrees in History and Development Studies from the Catholic University of Leuven and Ghent University, Belgium. He later earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Tilburg University, The Netherlands. During his early academic career, he worked as a researcher at Tilburg University and authored several books on business history.

For more than 25 years, De Vylder taught at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Antwerp Campus. He also supervised postgraduate students and mentored future scholars in economics and related disciplines. His teaching areas included:

Socio-Economic History

History of Economic Thought

Intercultural Negotiations

International Political Economy

Alongside his university career, Gerrit De Vylder carried out development project evaluations and academic collaborations in numerous countries, including: India, Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ukraine, China, Singapore, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Norway, and Portugal. He has also been invited internationally as a guest lecturer and conference speaker, contributing to cross-cultural academic exchange and professional dialogue.

De Vylder is currently developing a major project titled: "Middle Way Ethics in Economics and Society". This work explores ethical and social frameworks inspired by non-dual traditions such as Buddhism, applying them to contemporary economics and society.

His recent research and publications focus on:

The history and philosophical traditions of India

Globalization and development

Intercultural communication

Religious and philosophical dimensions of society

Historical perspectives on business and economics

De Vylder is the author of several books and academic works, particularly in the fields of business history, economics, globalization, and intercultural studies. His ongoing research continues to expand into ethics, philosophy, and society.

A Moment of Reflection

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History demonstrates that ‘a good idea’, if not stopped at a middle point, like suggested by Buddhist (and other non-dual) Middle Way-ethics, becomes its opposite, ‘a bad idea’. History repeats itself because of fear, greed, ambition, and the need to control others and everything. This ‘Short Memory Disorder’ caused climate change. We argue that climate neutral technologies, if unchecked, may lead to another ‘bad idea’. While Climate Change is focused, Mind Change is overlooked. Story-telling (passing on experience and wisdom) is replaced by story-selling (brainwashing causing a wrong black/white perspective). Problems cannot be solved with the same thinking which created them. What is needed is a Middle Way obtained through meditation, awareness, quietness, and eventually leading to consensus.

Gerrit De Vylder

The Middle Way Book | Coming Soon...