Papers by Jasmin Özel
Conatus, 2021
We argue for a reconsideration of the claim that Spinoza’s perfectionist conception of education ... more We argue for a reconsideration of the claim that Spinoza’s perfectionist conception of education was ushering in a form of radical humanism distinctly favorable to democratic ideals. With the rise of democratic societies and the corresponding need to constitute educational institutions within those societies, a more thoroughgoing commitment to democratic social ideals arose, first and foremost in American educational thought. This commitment can be seen especially in Dewey’s philosophy of education. Specifically, Dewey and Spinoza had strikingly distinct conceptions of the overall aims of schooling. While Spinoza takes the aim of education to be the perfection of a student’s original nature, Dewey takes education to involve the collective acquisition of an additional nature, reflecting the norms and expectations of one’s specific community. In this paper, we juxtapose these two distinct conceptions of education alongside one another, with an eye towards illuminating the limitations ...
Conatus, 2021
The papers collected in this issue address a variety of aspects of the concept of conatus ranging... more The papers collected in this issue address a variety of aspects of the concept of conatus ranging from the explorations of its roots in early ancient Greek thought to its application on modern theories of democratic education. The conatus is a special relation between the parts of a monad and their subparts and the subparts of the subparts to infinity, which ensures that each part and subpart is a part of this monad and not of any other. As a fundamental trait of monadic existence, the conatus is manifested in a multiplicity of facets that sustain the persistence of any real existence. It is thus obvious that there is still a vast field of such manifestations of conatus that awaits philosophical exploration, especially in the realms of Social Ontology and of the Philosophy of Nature.
Conatus, 2021
We argue for a reconsideration of the claim that Spinoza's perfectionist conception of education ... more We argue for a reconsideration of the claim that Spinoza's perfectionist conception of education was ushering in a form of radical humanism distinctly favorable to democratic ideals. With the rise of democratic societies and the corresponding need to constitute educational institutions within those societies, a more thoroughgoing commitment to democratic social ideals arose, first and foremost in American educational thought. This commitment can be seen especially in Dewey's philosophy of education. Specifically, Dewey and Spinoza had strikingly distinct conceptions of the overall aims of schooling. While Spinoza takes the aim of education to be the perfection of a student's original nature, Dewey takes education to involve the collective acquisition of an additional nature, reflecting the norms and expectations of one's specific community. In this paper, we juxtapose these two distinct conceptions of education alongside one another, with an eye towards illuminating the limitations of a perfectionist theory of education for the individual, as we find it in Spinoza, within a democratic society.
Philosophy of Education, 2021
Although the Hegelian roots of American educational thought, especially that of John Dewey, have ... more Although the Hegelian roots of American educational thought, especially that of John Dewey, have recently found more recognition, we argue for a more complete consideration of Hegel’s impact on post-Civil War educational thought in the United States. As James Scott Johnston suggests,“To reread Dewey as significantly Hegelian. . . . demands for a more complete consideration of the role of Hegel in late nineteenth-century American educational thought.” Hegelianism in America after the war exceeded its Prussian source in focusing on the question of how to provide for citizens’ freedom in the new democracy, and by arguing that the solution to this question needs to be implemented by means of institutions—in particular, public educational institutions. William Torrey Harris and the St. Louis Hegelians created an educational system for St. Louis that would serve as a model for the whole nation, from kindergarten all the way to the teachers’ colleges, and they passed an understanding of Hegel on to Dewey that differed substantially from the neo-theological readings that were widespread in the British academy at the time. By focusing on the commonalities between Harris and Dewey, we also make a preliminary case that Dewey’s thought did not constitute as much of a radical break with his Hegelian predecessors, as is commonly claimed.
Journal Special Issues by Jasmin Özel
Conatus - Journal of Philosophy, 2021
The papers collected in this issue address a variety of aspects of the concept of conatus ranging... more The papers collected in this issue address a variety of aspects of the concept of conatus ranging from the explorations of its roots in early ancient Greek thought to its application on modern theories of democratic education. The conatus is a special relation between the parts of a monad and their subparts and the subparts of the subparts to infinity, which ensures that each part and subpart is a part of this monad and not of any other. As a fundamental trait of monadic existence, the conatus is manifested in a multiplicity of facets that sustain the persistence of any real existence. It is thus obvious that there is still a vast field of such manifestations of conatus that awaits philosophical exploration, especially in the realms of Social Ontology and of the Philosophy of Nature.
Uploads
Papers by Jasmin Özel
Journal Special Issues by Jasmin Özel