There he received his BA in Electronic Engineering in 1980, his BA cum laude in Political Philosophy in 1987, and his MA cum laude in Philosophy in 1989.
[1] Cilliers started his academic career at Stellenbosch University, where in 1993 he became a lecturer in philosophy.
In the year 2008 he was Visiting Professor at the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht in the Netherlands.
In 2006 Cilliers was awarded the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award[4] in recognition of his achievements in developing a general understanding of the characteristics and nature of complex systems.
Cilliers authored and co-authored numerous publications in the field of philosophy and complexity science.