AMSTERDAM, April 8, 2025 — The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation has chosen American philosopher and science historian Donna Haraway as the recipient of the 2025 Erasmus Prize. This year’s theme for the prize centers on “the pursuit of what unites us.” Haraway is recognized as a selfless intellectual who investigates the complex relationships spanning biology, literature, art, and social and political activism. Echoing Erasmus in The Praise of Folly, she questions conventional human thinking and actions that contradict humanistic principles like equality and inclusivity. Notably, Haraway’s perspective broadens beyond humanity to encompass all living creatures.
Born in 1944 in Denver, Colorado, Haraway studied zoology and philosophy at Colorado College. Following a year in Paris dedicated to exploring evolutionary philosophy, she earned her PhD in biology from Yale University in 1972. Subsequently, she held academic positions in women’s studies and the philosophy of science at the University of Hawaii and Johns Hopkins University. From 1980 until her retirement, she served as a Professor of History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
She achieved international recognition with her Cyborg Manifesto (1985), which quickly became a feminist cornerstone. Haraway utilizes the concept of the cyborg—a combination of human and machine—to re-evaluate oppositions like male and female, human and machine, and nature and culture. She further deconstructed these entrenched dualisms in Primate Visions (1990), offering a detailed analysis of primatology. Our perception of the natural world is deeply connected to issues of race and gender. For example, the language used by primatologists often reinforces socially constructed gender differences. In more recent works, such as When Species Meet (2007) and Staying with the Trouble (2016), she delves into how we can coexist with other organisms in an ecologically threatened world, consistently examining the boundaries between human and non-human life.
Haraway’s impact extends beyond academic circles. By introducing novel concepts and metaphors, she provides an original, creative, and critical lens on contemporary crises. Her work has served as inspiration for generations of philosophers, scientists, and artists involved in combating sexism, racism, and speciesism, establishing her as a highly influential voice in philosophy and contemporary art.
Throughout her career, Haraway has received numerous awards and honors, including the J.D. Bernal Prize in 2000, the highest distinction from the Society of Social Studies of Science. In 2020, she was awarded the Nuevo León Alfonso Reyes prize in recognition of her ability to integrate biology, economics, politics, culture, science fiction, feminism, and climate change.
The Erasmus Prize is awarded annually to either an individual or an institution demonstrating outstanding contributions to the humanities or the arts. His Majesty the King is the Patron of the Foundation. The prize includes a monetary award of €150,000 and will be presented in the fall of 2025.
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