Home 
Hennie Rossouw
Author of philosophical works
Professor of Philosophy, 1972 - 1984, and Vice-Rector (Academic Affairs), 1985
- 1993,
Stellenbosch University
Hendrik Willem Rossouw was born on 7 December, 1933. In 1950 he passed matric as
best student in the Cape Province. He studied at
Stellenbosch University (BA, MA, BD and Cand.Theol, all cum laude) and
obtained a ThDr (cum laude) at the Free University of Amsterdam.
In 1963 he was appointed senior lecturer of Philosphy at Stellenbosch
University. After serving as professor of Philosophy from 1972 until 1984, he
was elected Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, a position he took up in 1985. He
retired at the end of 1993.
Apart from his academic and administrative duties at Stellenbosch University,
he served on a number of other bodies, such as the Board of Human
Sciences Research Council and the Councils of the South African Library, the SA
Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, and the University of the Western Cape. He was
also a member of the Academic Planning Committee of the CUP, the South African
Council for Education, the National Commission of Higher Education (1995-96)
and the National Working Group on the
Institutional Restructuring of Higher Education (2001).
Hennie Rossouw was married to Hester Heese, who died in January 1971. They had
five children: Henk, Hans (died in 1981 at the age of 19), Linda, Gerda and
Hester. Since December 1974 he has been married to Leonora de Kock (née
Naudé). She has three children from her first marriage: Victor, Peet and Alta.
Awards and Honours:Rossouw won several scholarships for further studies and received the Andrew
Murray Prize for religious and theological literature (1984), the Stals Prize
for Philosophy (1998), the N.P. van Wyk Louw Prize for the Humanities (1994)
and a Medal of the Centre for Scientific Development (HSRC) for the
advancement of the humanities (1993). After his retirement, he was appointed
honorary professor of Philosophy, for a period of three years, at the Rand
Afrikaans University (1997 - 1999). A collection of essays was published in his
honour in 1993:
Intellektueel in konteks: opstelle vir Hennie Rossouw (Intellectual in context: essays for Hennie Rossouw (editors and co-authors: Anton van Niekerk, Willie Esterhuyse, and Johan Hattingh), Pretoria: HSRC, 1993
In 1998 he received the degree D.Phil honoris causa from Stellenbosch
University.Publications:Rossouw published a number of essays and articles in several journals and
contributed to five encyclopaedias in Afrikaans.
Books:
Klaarheid en Interpretasie (Clarity and Interpretation), Amsterdam: Jacob van
Campen, 1963
Wetenskap, Interpretasie, Wysheid (Science, Interpretation, Wisdom), Port
Elizabeth: UPE 1980
Die sin van die lewe (The meaning of life), Tafelberg, 1981
Universiteit, Wetenskap en Kultuur (University, science and culture. Compiled
by Anton van Niekerk), Tafelberg 1993
Information by Hennie Rossouw
www.StellenboschWriters.com © Rosemarie Breuer
Books