Johan Dahlbeck is Associate Professor of Education at Malmö University and his research interest is in the philosophy of education and Spinoza studies.
This paper introduces the symposium on Spinoza on perfectionism and education. It frames the key ... more This paper introduces the symposium on Spinoza on perfectionism and education. It frames the key issue of Spinoza's perfectionism in terms of a perennial educational problem and introduces the different contributions to this special issue, where Steven Nadler's main paper is followed by a series of full paper responses by a group of Spinoza scholars and educational theorists. To round off the special issue, Nadler comments on the responses to his main paper.
This essay (written in response to Steven Nadler's article in this issue) seeks to interrogate th... more This essay (written in response to Steven Nadler's article in this issue) seeks to interrogate the promise of Spinoza's perfectionism for education. It does so by first establishing Spinoza's perfectionism as a striving toward the intellectual love of God, occasioning an investigation of the relation Nadler sets up between Spinoza's and Maimonides' perfectionist schemes, and then evaluating the educational currency of such a striving. It is argued that while Spinoza's highest good is difficult to construe as a widely attainable educational aim, it allows for two different educational pathways, where one focuses on the reeducation of passions via narratives adjusted to the ingenia of students and the other on attaining the highest good. At a glance, these two pathways come across as radically different in their setup, but they are aligned insofar as the stability of the community (agreeability) is a precondition for the striving for intellectual perfection. In parallel, this tracks how a pedagogical relation-being necessarily asymmetrical from the outset-can evolve into a relation of mutual friendship once the striving for perfection is identified and accepted as a common goal.
This paper argues that Rousseau’s lawgiver is best thought of as a fictional teacher of peoples. ... more This paper argues that Rousseau’s lawgiver is best thought of as a fictional teacher of peoples. It is fictional as it reflects an idea that is entertained despite its contradictory nature, and it is contradictory in the sense that it describes ‘an undertaking beyond human strength and, to execute it, an authority that amounts to nothing’ (II.7; 192). Rousseau conceives of the social contract as a necessary device for enabling the transferal of individual power to the body politic, for subsuming individual wills under the general will, and for aligning the good of the individual with the common good. For the social contract to be valid, however, it needs to be preceded by a desire to belong to a moral community that can induce people to join willingly, and that will grant legitimacy to the laws established. If the social contract is the machinery that makes the body politic function, the lawgiver is ‘the mechanic who invents the machine’ (II.7; 191). In this paper we will look closer at the pedagogical functions of Rousseau’s mythical lawgiver by first examining the relationship between the social contract, the general will and the lawgiver. Then, we aim to flesh out a pedagogical understanding of the figure of the lawgiver by way of the two educational dimensions of accommodation and transformation. Finally, we will argue for the importance of understanding Rousseau’s lawgiver as a fictional device allowing for the fundamental and enduring educational task of balancing between the preservation and renewal of society.
In this paper Johan Dahlbeck sets out to propose a pedagogy of "as if," seeking to address the ed... more In this paper Johan Dahlbeck sets out to propose a pedagogy of "as if," seeking to address the educational paradox of how students can be influenced to approximate a life guided by reason without assuming that they are already sufficiently rational to adhere to dictates of practical reason. He does so by outlining a fictionalist account, drawing primarily on Hans Vaihinger's systematic treatment of heuristic fictions and on Spinoza's ideas about how passive affects can be made to strengthen reason. Dahlbeck suggests that such an account can help us overcome the problem of assuming that reason needs to be enlisted as an instrument in the educational endeavor to live according to the guidance of reason. The reason this is so is that fictions can use passive affects that are prosocial and that thereby strengthen the sense of community necessary for laying a cooperative foundation for successful joint striving. Dahlbeck suggests further that exemplary teachers are crucial to this endeavor insofar as they can offer educational fictions as imaginative and temporary placeholders for the truth, allowing students to act "as if" they were already guided by reason.
This paper addresses the rift between the teacher’s sense of self as a causal agent and the exper... more This paper addresses the rift between the teacher’s sense of self as a causal agent and the experience of being in lack of control in the classroom, by way of Hans Vaihinger’s philosophy of ‘as if.’ It is argued that understanding agential control in terms of a valuable educational fiction—a practical (ethical) fiction in Vaihinger’s vocabulary—can offer a way of bridging this rift and can help teachers make sense of the tension between their felt need to strive for control and their experience of suffering from lack of control. A fiction, it is argued, is different from an illusion in that fictions can be affirmed without being believed. Unlike illusions, valuable fictions can be recognized as fictions and still retain some of their affective power over us, thereby allowing us to act ‘as if.’ In education, this is helpful as it means that we can make use of valuable fictions without assuming that these have to be protected from the critical gaze of non-believers. In fact, we can openly acknowledge that we rely on fictions as this is part and parcel of being a human being with a limited cognitive ability.
To what extent should teachers promote the view from nowhere as an ideal to strive for in educati... more To what extent should teachers promote the view from nowhere as an ideal to strive for in education? To address this question, I will use Mark Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger as an example, illustrating the stakes involved when the view from nowhere is taken to be an attainable educational ideal. I will begin this essay by offering a description of Thomas Nagel’s view from nowhere. Having done this, I will return to Twain’s story, providing some further examples of how access to the view from nowhere comes to influence the educational process in different ways. I will then connect the educational question raised by Twain’s story to two radically different versions of the exemplar found in the works of Benedict de Spinoza: the philosopher and the prophet. These figures will help illustrate how the striving for philosophical truth can sometimes be educationally inapt, as education always needs to account for humans being human, all too human.
Detta är en essä om hur vi bättre kan förstå vad det innebär att vara lärare. Den tar avstamp i e... more Detta är en essä om hur vi bättre kan förstå vad det innebär att vara lärare. Den tar avstamp i en aktuell skoldebatt om vilka uppgifter som egentligen ingår i lärares arbete och vad det betyder att vara lärare. Diskussionen om vad det innebär att vara lärare utgår i regel från att undervisning är kärnan i lärares arbete, men undervisningsbegreppet i sig är sällan föremål för diskussion. I denna essä gör vi en filosofisk undersökning av undervisningsbegreppet utifrån ett antal kriterier som vi menar vara centrala för att förstå den pedagogiska relationens olika roller. Vi föreslår begreppet lärarskap som beteckning för lärares liv och arbete.
The purpose of this article is to add to the debate on the normative status and legitimacy of ind... more The purpose of this article is to add to the debate on the normative status and legitimacy of indoctrination in education by drawing on the political philosophy of Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677). More specifically, I will argue that Spinoza's relational approach to knowledge formation and autonomy, in light of his understanding of the natural limitations of human cognition, provides us with valuable hints for staking out a more productive path ahead for the debate on indoctrination. This article combines an investigation into the early modern history of political ideas with a philosophical inquiry into a persistent conceptual problem residing at the heart of education. As such, the aim of the article is ultimately to offer an account of indoctrination less fraught with the dangers of epistemological and political idealism that often haunt rival conceptions.
The Impacts of Neoliberal Discourse and Language in Education: Critical Perspectives on a Rhetoric of Equality, Well-Being, and Justice, 2021
In this chapter we use the Swedish example of entrepreneurial learning as a springboard to discus... more In this chapter we use the Swedish example of entrepreneurial learning as a springboard to discuss the curious alliance between student-centered progressive education and the economization of education. In doing so we wish to highlight the effects of this alliance on the relationship between teaching and learning and, consequently, on the teacher-student relation. In order to do this, we will first examine the conditions for the economization of contemporary education, and its impact on the teacher-student relation. Having done so, we will turn to progressive education, examining the link between the ideal of student-centeredness and the economization of the role of the student, as well as looking closer at the contradictory figure of the entrepreneurial teacher. The chapter concludes with a discussion on some inherent tensions visible in entrepreneurial learning, being at once an effect of the economization of education and a pedagogical project firmly rooted in progressive ideals.
Denna essä är en pedagogisk-filosofisk betraktelse över hur berättelser kan användas för att init... more Denna essä är en pedagogisk-filosofisk betraktelse över hur berättelser kan användas för att initiera etiska samtal i utbildning. Den tar spjärn emot idéer om att etisk kunskap bäst grundas hos barn och unga genom undervisning av etiska principer eller genom att träna etiskt beteende och framhåller istället styrkan i att tillsammans med barn och unga utforska berättelser som engagerar känslor och fantasi men som samtidigt kan leda in i ett djupare etiskt samtal utan på förhand givna svar.
This article turns to the neglected pedagogical concept of ingenium in order to address some shor... more This article turns to the neglected pedagogical concept of ingenium in order to address some shortcomings of the admiration–emulation model of Linda Zabzebski’s influential exemplarist moral theory. I will start by introducing the problem of the admiration-emu- lation model by way of a fictional example. I will then briefly outline the concept of inge- nium such as it appears in a Renaissance context, looking particularly at the pedagogical writings of Juan Luis Vives (1492/3–1540). This will set the stage for the next part, look- ing at how early modern philosopher Benedict Spinoza (1632–1677) adopts a Vivesian notion of ingenium, adjusting it so as to fit into the setting of his political theory. Next, I will turn to Spinoza’s use of the concept of ingenium in relation to his portrayal of exem- plary persons, offering a pedagogical model of moral exemplarism that can counter some of the perceived problems of the admiration–emulation model as it highlights the neces- sary fallibility of efficient exemplars as well as acknowledges the socio-political dimension of emotions. Finally, I will lay out some preliminary consequences for educational theory, hoping to offer a way of reconciling moral exemplarism with a more realistic pedagogical and psychological framework.
In late October of 2019, we brought together scholars from very different traditions in order to ... more In late October of 2019, we brought together scholars from very different traditions in order to explore the notion of exemplarity and the role of exemplars in education. Bringing together scholars working on ethics and moral exemplarism, Spinoza scholars and Arendt scholars, we attempted to bring these different perspectives to bear on the role of exemplarity in education. Not in order to create a synthesis of ideas or to find solutions for practical issues, but in order to explore collegially the important issue of exemplarity in education. On the one hand, it was an attempt to put something on the table, and on the other, it was an attempt to bring people together in order to share a couple of days away from everyday academic life so as to engage the object of study without distractions. Part of what it occasioned can be read in this special issue.
While Spinoza stipulates an ideal moral person in the propositions on the ‘free man’ in Ethics IV... more While Spinoza stipulates an ideal moral person in the propositions on the ‘free man’ in Ethics IV, this account does not seem to be intended to function as a pedagogical tool of political relevance. Hence, it does not seem to correspond to the purpose of moral exemplarism. If we look for that kind of practical guidance, Spinoza’s political works seem more relevant. Interestingly, when we approach Spinoza’s political theory with moral exemplarism in mind, we find that instead of constructing his exemplar on the idea of a supremely moral person, he emphasizes the concept of ingenium to chisel out an imperfect model of human behavior. We argue that the purpose of this is to avoid a utopian and inefficient political theory and to work out a moral practice that is capable of assisting people and communities in ethical self-transformation.
Saul Smilansky's Illusionism suggests that some false beliefs are important enough to warrant the... more Saul Smilansky's Illusionism suggests that some false beliefs are important enough to warrant the indefinite perpetuation of illusions in order to protect the larger moral community from breaking down. In this article I suggest that this position actualises an old educational paradox where education is expected to protect the common moral community (even if this means maintaining some illusions), and at the same time promote the pursuit of truth. Taking Smilansky's position of Illusionism as a starting point, I argue that while Illusionism highlights and addresses an important problem—that sometimes false beliefs can function to maintain social stability where the truth threatens to unsettle it—relying on indefinite illusions is problematic from an educational point of view. It is difficult to justify that education, being at least in part motivated by truth‐seeking, should (or even could) be grounded in illusion. Taking seriously the fact that a dimension of education concerns maintaining social stability, I suggest that Spinoza's notion of fiction can complement Smilansky's view in that it can be conceived in terms of an instrument for maintaining social stability and promoting truth‐seeking without assuming that one end is pursued at the expense of the other.
Taika Waititi's recent film 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' (2016) portrays the coming-of-age of a yo... more Taika Waititi's recent film 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' (2016) portrays the coming-of-age of a young boy, Ricky, in a world with few recognisably responsible adults. While the film does not engage explicitly with formal education, it raises several questions central for understanding education as formation, highlighting the generational aspects of educational relations and pointing to the importance of an adult world taking responsibility for the formation and upbringing of the younger generation. Departing from a discussion on the role of formation and intergenerational relations in Rousseau and Arendt, we will draw on the film's portrayal of an adult world in crisis in order to discuss some of its possible consequences for understanding education in terms of intergenerational relations and formation. This involves raising questions about the educational consequences of the absence of recognisably responsible adults and it involves investigating how this absence might impact our understanding of education as the formation and upbringing of educated human beings. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgement. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education (Emile, Rousseau, 1979, p. 38).
This paper introduces the symposium on Spinoza on perfectionism and education. It frames the key ... more This paper introduces the symposium on Spinoza on perfectionism and education. It frames the key issue of Spinoza's perfectionism in terms of a perennial educational problem and introduces the different contributions to this special issue, where Steven Nadler's main paper is followed by a series of full paper responses by a group of Spinoza scholars and educational theorists. To round off the special issue, Nadler comments on the responses to his main paper.
This essay (written in response to Steven Nadler's article in this issue) seeks to interrogate th... more This essay (written in response to Steven Nadler's article in this issue) seeks to interrogate the promise of Spinoza's perfectionism for education. It does so by first establishing Spinoza's perfectionism as a striving toward the intellectual love of God, occasioning an investigation of the relation Nadler sets up between Spinoza's and Maimonides' perfectionist schemes, and then evaluating the educational currency of such a striving. It is argued that while Spinoza's highest good is difficult to construe as a widely attainable educational aim, it allows for two different educational pathways, where one focuses on the reeducation of passions via narratives adjusted to the ingenia of students and the other on attaining the highest good. At a glance, these two pathways come across as radically different in their setup, but they are aligned insofar as the stability of the community (agreeability) is a precondition for the striving for intellectual perfection. In parallel, this tracks how a pedagogical relation-being necessarily asymmetrical from the outset-can evolve into a relation of mutual friendship once the striving for perfection is identified and accepted as a common goal.
This paper argues that Rousseau’s lawgiver is best thought of as a fictional teacher of peoples. ... more This paper argues that Rousseau’s lawgiver is best thought of as a fictional teacher of peoples. It is fictional as it reflects an idea that is entertained despite its contradictory nature, and it is contradictory in the sense that it describes ‘an undertaking beyond human strength and, to execute it, an authority that amounts to nothing’ (II.7; 192). Rousseau conceives of the social contract as a necessary device for enabling the transferal of individual power to the body politic, for subsuming individual wills under the general will, and for aligning the good of the individual with the common good. For the social contract to be valid, however, it needs to be preceded by a desire to belong to a moral community that can induce people to join willingly, and that will grant legitimacy to the laws established. If the social contract is the machinery that makes the body politic function, the lawgiver is ‘the mechanic who invents the machine’ (II.7; 191). In this paper we will look closer at the pedagogical functions of Rousseau’s mythical lawgiver by first examining the relationship between the social contract, the general will and the lawgiver. Then, we aim to flesh out a pedagogical understanding of the figure of the lawgiver by way of the two educational dimensions of accommodation and transformation. Finally, we will argue for the importance of understanding Rousseau’s lawgiver as a fictional device allowing for the fundamental and enduring educational task of balancing between the preservation and renewal of society.
In this paper Johan Dahlbeck sets out to propose a pedagogy of "as if," seeking to address the ed... more In this paper Johan Dahlbeck sets out to propose a pedagogy of "as if," seeking to address the educational paradox of how students can be influenced to approximate a life guided by reason without assuming that they are already sufficiently rational to adhere to dictates of practical reason. He does so by outlining a fictionalist account, drawing primarily on Hans Vaihinger's systematic treatment of heuristic fictions and on Spinoza's ideas about how passive affects can be made to strengthen reason. Dahlbeck suggests that such an account can help us overcome the problem of assuming that reason needs to be enlisted as an instrument in the educational endeavor to live according to the guidance of reason. The reason this is so is that fictions can use passive affects that are prosocial and that thereby strengthen the sense of community necessary for laying a cooperative foundation for successful joint striving. Dahlbeck suggests further that exemplary teachers are crucial to this endeavor insofar as they can offer educational fictions as imaginative and temporary placeholders for the truth, allowing students to act "as if" they were already guided by reason.
This paper addresses the rift between the teacher’s sense of self as a causal agent and the exper... more This paper addresses the rift between the teacher’s sense of self as a causal agent and the experience of being in lack of control in the classroom, by way of Hans Vaihinger’s philosophy of ‘as if.’ It is argued that understanding agential control in terms of a valuable educational fiction—a practical (ethical) fiction in Vaihinger’s vocabulary—can offer a way of bridging this rift and can help teachers make sense of the tension between their felt need to strive for control and their experience of suffering from lack of control. A fiction, it is argued, is different from an illusion in that fictions can be affirmed without being believed. Unlike illusions, valuable fictions can be recognized as fictions and still retain some of their affective power over us, thereby allowing us to act ‘as if.’ In education, this is helpful as it means that we can make use of valuable fictions without assuming that these have to be protected from the critical gaze of non-believers. In fact, we can openly acknowledge that we rely on fictions as this is part and parcel of being a human being with a limited cognitive ability.
To what extent should teachers promote the view from nowhere as an ideal to strive for in educati... more To what extent should teachers promote the view from nowhere as an ideal to strive for in education? To address this question, I will use Mark Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger as an example, illustrating the stakes involved when the view from nowhere is taken to be an attainable educational ideal. I will begin this essay by offering a description of Thomas Nagel’s view from nowhere. Having done this, I will return to Twain’s story, providing some further examples of how access to the view from nowhere comes to influence the educational process in different ways. I will then connect the educational question raised by Twain’s story to two radically different versions of the exemplar found in the works of Benedict de Spinoza: the philosopher and the prophet. These figures will help illustrate how the striving for philosophical truth can sometimes be educationally inapt, as education always needs to account for humans being human, all too human.
Detta är en essä om hur vi bättre kan förstå vad det innebär att vara lärare. Den tar avstamp i e... more Detta är en essä om hur vi bättre kan förstå vad det innebär att vara lärare. Den tar avstamp i en aktuell skoldebatt om vilka uppgifter som egentligen ingår i lärares arbete och vad det betyder att vara lärare. Diskussionen om vad det innebär att vara lärare utgår i regel från att undervisning är kärnan i lärares arbete, men undervisningsbegreppet i sig är sällan föremål för diskussion. I denna essä gör vi en filosofisk undersökning av undervisningsbegreppet utifrån ett antal kriterier som vi menar vara centrala för att förstå den pedagogiska relationens olika roller. Vi föreslår begreppet lärarskap som beteckning för lärares liv och arbete.
The purpose of this article is to add to the debate on the normative status and legitimacy of ind... more The purpose of this article is to add to the debate on the normative status and legitimacy of indoctrination in education by drawing on the political philosophy of Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677). More specifically, I will argue that Spinoza's relational approach to knowledge formation and autonomy, in light of his understanding of the natural limitations of human cognition, provides us with valuable hints for staking out a more productive path ahead for the debate on indoctrination. This article combines an investigation into the early modern history of political ideas with a philosophical inquiry into a persistent conceptual problem residing at the heart of education. As such, the aim of the article is ultimately to offer an account of indoctrination less fraught with the dangers of epistemological and political idealism that often haunt rival conceptions.
The Impacts of Neoliberal Discourse and Language in Education: Critical Perspectives on a Rhetoric of Equality, Well-Being, and Justice, 2021
In this chapter we use the Swedish example of entrepreneurial learning as a springboard to discus... more In this chapter we use the Swedish example of entrepreneurial learning as a springboard to discuss the curious alliance between student-centered progressive education and the economization of education. In doing so we wish to highlight the effects of this alliance on the relationship between teaching and learning and, consequently, on the teacher-student relation. In order to do this, we will first examine the conditions for the economization of contemporary education, and its impact on the teacher-student relation. Having done so, we will turn to progressive education, examining the link between the ideal of student-centeredness and the economization of the role of the student, as well as looking closer at the contradictory figure of the entrepreneurial teacher. The chapter concludes with a discussion on some inherent tensions visible in entrepreneurial learning, being at once an effect of the economization of education and a pedagogical project firmly rooted in progressive ideals.
Denna essä är en pedagogisk-filosofisk betraktelse över hur berättelser kan användas för att init... more Denna essä är en pedagogisk-filosofisk betraktelse över hur berättelser kan användas för att initiera etiska samtal i utbildning. Den tar spjärn emot idéer om att etisk kunskap bäst grundas hos barn och unga genom undervisning av etiska principer eller genom att träna etiskt beteende och framhåller istället styrkan i att tillsammans med barn och unga utforska berättelser som engagerar känslor och fantasi men som samtidigt kan leda in i ett djupare etiskt samtal utan på förhand givna svar.
This article turns to the neglected pedagogical concept of ingenium in order to address some shor... more This article turns to the neglected pedagogical concept of ingenium in order to address some shortcomings of the admiration–emulation model of Linda Zabzebski’s influential exemplarist moral theory. I will start by introducing the problem of the admiration-emu- lation model by way of a fictional example. I will then briefly outline the concept of inge- nium such as it appears in a Renaissance context, looking particularly at the pedagogical writings of Juan Luis Vives (1492/3–1540). This will set the stage for the next part, look- ing at how early modern philosopher Benedict Spinoza (1632–1677) adopts a Vivesian notion of ingenium, adjusting it so as to fit into the setting of his political theory. Next, I will turn to Spinoza’s use of the concept of ingenium in relation to his portrayal of exem- plary persons, offering a pedagogical model of moral exemplarism that can counter some of the perceived problems of the admiration–emulation model as it highlights the neces- sary fallibility of efficient exemplars as well as acknowledges the socio-political dimension of emotions. Finally, I will lay out some preliminary consequences for educational theory, hoping to offer a way of reconciling moral exemplarism with a more realistic pedagogical and psychological framework.
In late October of 2019, we brought together scholars from very different traditions in order to ... more In late October of 2019, we brought together scholars from very different traditions in order to explore the notion of exemplarity and the role of exemplars in education. Bringing together scholars working on ethics and moral exemplarism, Spinoza scholars and Arendt scholars, we attempted to bring these different perspectives to bear on the role of exemplarity in education. Not in order to create a synthesis of ideas or to find solutions for practical issues, but in order to explore collegially the important issue of exemplarity in education. On the one hand, it was an attempt to put something on the table, and on the other, it was an attempt to bring people together in order to share a couple of days away from everyday academic life so as to engage the object of study without distractions. Part of what it occasioned can be read in this special issue.
While Spinoza stipulates an ideal moral person in the propositions on the ‘free man’ in Ethics IV... more While Spinoza stipulates an ideal moral person in the propositions on the ‘free man’ in Ethics IV, this account does not seem to be intended to function as a pedagogical tool of political relevance. Hence, it does not seem to correspond to the purpose of moral exemplarism. If we look for that kind of practical guidance, Spinoza’s political works seem more relevant. Interestingly, when we approach Spinoza’s political theory with moral exemplarism in mind, we find that instead of constructing his exemplar on the idea of a supremely moral person, he emphasizes the concept of ingenium to chisel out an imperfect model of human behavior. We argue that the purpose of this is to avoid a utopian and inefficient political theory and to work out a moral practice that is capable of assisting people and communities in ethical self-transformation.
Saul Smilansky's Illusionism suggests that some false beliefs are important enough to warrant the... more Saul Smilansky's Illusionism suggests that some false beliefs are important enough to warrant the indefinite perpetuation of illusions in order to protect the larger moral community from breaking down. In this article I suggest that this position actualises an old educational paradox where education is expected to protect the common moral community (even if this means maintaining some illusions), and at the same time promote the pursuit of truth. Taking Smilansky's position of Illusionism as a starting point, I argue that while Illusionism highlights and addresses an important problem—that sometimes false beliefs can function to maintain social stability where the truth threatens to unsettle it—relying on indefinite illusions is problematic from an educational point of view. It is difficult to justify that education, being at least in part motivated by truth‐seeking, should (or even could) be grounded in illusion. Taking seriously the fact that a dimension of education concerns maintaining social stability, I suggest that Spinoza's notion of fiction can complement Smilansky's view in that it can be conceived in terms of an instrument for maintaining social stability and promoting truth‐seeking without assuming that one end is pursued at the expense of the other.
Taika Waititi's recent film 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' (2016) portrays the coming-of-age of a yo... more Taika Waititi's recent film 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' (2016) portrays the coming-of-age of a young boy, Ricky, in a world with few recognisably responsible adults. While the film does not engage explicitly with formal education, it raises several questions central for understanding education as formation, highlighting the generational aspects of educational relations and pointing to the importance of an adult world taking responsibility for the formation and upbringing of the younger generation. Departing from a discussion on the role of formation and intergenerational relations in Rousseau and Arendt, we will draw on the film's portrayal of an adult world in crisis in order to discuss some of its possible consequences for understanding education in terms of intergenerational relations and formation. This involves raising questions about the educational consequences of the absence of recognisably responsible adults and it involves investigating how this absence might impact our understanding of education as the formation and upbringing of educated human beings. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgement. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education (Emile, Rousseau, 1979, p. 38).
Brill Research Perspectives in Philosophy of Education, 2023
Fictionalism confronts the dual epistemological nature of education. In this book, Johan Dahlbeck... more Fictionalism confronts the dual epistemological nature of education. In this book, Johan Dahlbeck argues that all education, at bottom, concerns a striving for truth initiated through fictions. This foundational aporia is then interrogated and made sense of via Hans Vaihinger's philosophy of 'as if' and Spinoza's peculiar form of exemplarism. Using a variety of fictional examples, Dahlbeck investigates the different dimensions of educational fictionalism, from teacher exemplarism to the basic educational fictions necessary for getting started in education in the first place. Fictionalism will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in the philosophical foundations of education.
This book is a philosophical enquiry into the educational consequences of Spinoza’s political the... more This book is a philosophical enquiry into the educational consequences of Spinoza’s political theory. Spinoza’s political theory is of particular interest for educational thought as it brings together the normative aims of his ethical theory with his realistic depiction of human psychology and the ramifications of this for successful political governance. As such, this book aims to introduce the reader to Spinoza’s original vision of civic education, as a project that ultimately aims at the ethical flourishing of individuals, while being carefully tailored and adjusted to the natural limitations of human reason.
Readers will benefit from a succinct introduction to Spinoza’s political philosophy and from an account of civic education that is based on careful exegetical work. It draws conclusions only hinted at in Spinoza’s own writings.
Education and Free Will critically assesses and makes use of Spinoza’s insights on human freedom ... more Education and Free Will critically assesses and makes use of Spinoza’s insights on human freedom to construe an account of education that is compatible with causal determinism without sacrificing the educational goal of increasing students’ autonomy and self-determination. Offering a thorough investigation into the philosophical position of causal determinism, Dahlbeck discusses Spinoza’s view of self-determination and presents his own suggestions for an education for autonomy from a causal determinist point of view.
The book begins by outlining the free will problem in education, before expanding on a philosophical understanding of autonomy and how it is seen as an educational ideal. It considers Spinoza’s determinism and discusses his denial of moral responsibility. Later chapters consider the relationship between causal determinism and autonomy, the educational implications of understanding free will and how free will can be utilised as a valuable fiction in education.
This book will be of great interest to academics and postgraduate students in the field of education, especially those with an interest in moral education and philosophy of education. It will also be of interest to those in the fields of philosophy and psychology and specifically those focusing on the free will problem, on Spinoza studies, and on the relation between moral psychology and external influence.
Spinoza and Education offers a comprehensive investigation into the educational implications of S... more Spinoza and Education offers a comprehensive investigation into the educational implications of Spinoza’s moral theory. Taking Spinoza’s naturalism as its point of departure, it constructs a considered account of education, taking special care to investigate the educational implications of Spinoza’s psychological egoism. What emerges is a counterintuitive form of education grounded in the egoistic striving of the teacher to persevere and to flourish in existence while still catering to the ethical demands of the students and the greater community.
In providing an educational reading of Spinoza’s moral theory, this book sets up a critical dialogue between educational theory and recent studies which highlight the centrality of ethics in Spinoza’s overall philosophy. By placing his work in a contemporary educational context, chapters explore a counterintuitive conception of education as an ethical project, aimed at overcoming the desire to seek short-term satisfaction and troubling the influential concept of the student as consumer. This book also considers how education, from a Spinozistic point of view, may be approached in terms of a kind of cognitive therapy serving to further a more scientifically adequate understanding of the world and aimed at combating prejudices and superstition.
Spinoza and Education demonstrates that Spinoza’s moral theory can further an educational ideal, where notions of freedom and self-preservation provide the conceptual core of a coherent philosophy of education. As such, it will appeal to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of philosophy of education, theory of education, critical thinking, philosophy, ethics, and Spinoza studies.
The aim of this thesis is to critically examine how ethical principles are conceptualized and app... more The aim of this thesis is to critically examine how ethical principles are conceptualized and applied in educational contexts, focusing on the intersection of early childhood education and education for sustainable development. Its contribution to educational research in general, and to philosophy of education in particular, is to; first, discuss the presumed relation between ethical principles and individual actions and events, and to illustrate how this connection frames the understanding and application of ethics in educational situations. Second, it is to problematize the conditions for how the ethical framework is understood and applied by examining disturbances in the relation between ethical principles and its individualizations using a philosophy of immanent ethics as a conceptual framework.
Education for sustainable development is targeted specifically as it offers some interesting examples of educational situations where children are working with ethical decision making and where ethical principles – manifested in the form of universal human rights – are commonly invoked. These examples are analyzed in terms of paradigmatic examples as they are taken to say something about the conditions for conceptualizing ethics in contemporary education. Looking at texts produced or commonly referred to within the discourse of education for sustainable development, the four articles of this thesis are looking to make visible some basic assumptions necessary for understanding and making sense of the examples looked at. The paradigmatic examples range from official documents on children’s rights to various forms of teaching materials produced within the discourse of education for sustainable development.
The Kantian concept of the good will is identified as a useful way of describing the imagined link between principles and actions, facilitating the general understanding of the process whereby children are anticipated to make good ethical decisions in educational situations. The concept of the good will is, in turn, dependent on some form of transcendent ethics where ethical principles are presumed to exist independent of historical and social changes.
Through the concept of immanent ethics, the presumed stability of the relation between principles and actions is scrutinized and destabilized. This is so as it introduces intrinsic dimensions of change and particularity into the overarching ethical scheme. Without the seemingly stable guarantors of universally valid ethical principles, the educational aspects of ethics appear to take on new characteristics, demanding the construction of new problems and the formulation of new questions regarding the relation between ethics and education.
This paper addresses the rift between the teacher’s sense of self as a causal agent and the exper... more This paper addresses the rift between the teacher’s sense of self as a causal agent and the experience of being in lack of control in the classroom, by way of Hans Vaihinger’s philosophy of ‘as if.’ It is argued that understanding agential control in terms of a valuable fiction—a practical (ethical) fiction in Vaihinger’s vocabulary—can offer a way of bridging this rift and can help teachers make sense of the tension between their felt need to strive for control and their experience of suffering from lack of control. A fiction, it is argued, is different from an illusion in that fictions can be affirmed without being believed. Unlike illusions, valuable fictions can be recognized as fictions and still retain some of their affective power over us, thereby allowing us to act ‘as if.’ In education, this is helpful as it means that we can make use of valuable fictions without assuming that these have to be protected from the critical gaze of non-believers. In fact, we can openly acknowledge that we rely on fictions as this is part and parcel of being a human being with a limited cognitive ability
The Role of the Exemplar in Arendt and Spinoza: insights for moral exemplarism and moral education , 2019
The purpose of moral exemplarism is to render moral theory practically functional. It deals with ... more The purpose of moral exemplarism is to render moral theory practically functional. It deals with how to make virtue theories about what is good for us work, and with being able to ground one’s account of virtue in a realistic understanding of human nature and of the cognitive mechanisms that govern human action. According to Linda Zagzebski’s conception of moral exemplarism, exemplars are to be understood as ‘supremely admirable persons who show us the upper reaches of human capability, and in doing so, inspire us to expect more from ourselves’ (Zagzebski, 2017, p. 1). From the point of view of Spinoza’s philosophy, the problem with hinging a practical moral theory on the emulation of “supremely admirable persons” is that it becomes an inefficient (perhaps even counter-productive) pedagogical tool insofar as it betrays a false (highly idealized) understanding of human nature. While Spinoza extrapolates on the traits of a supremely admirable person in the propositions on the “free man” in Ethics IV, this account does not seem to be intended to function as a pedagogical tool of practical relevance. Hence, it does not seem to correspond to the purpose of moral exemplarism. If we look for that kind of practical guidance, Spinoza’s political works seem more relevant. Interestingly, when we approach Spinoza’s political theory with moral exemplarism in mind, we find that instead of constructing his exemplar on the idea of a supremely admirable person, he emphasizes the concept of ingenium to chisel out an imperfect model of human behavior. The purpose for this seems to be to avoid a utopian and inefficient political theory and to work out a moral practice that is capable of assisting people (regardless of societal context and level of understanding) in ethical self-transformation.
In this essay, our point of departure is the tension between the modern idea of childhood associa... more In this essay, our point of departure is the tension between the modern idea of childhood associated with the notion of the child as being, and the idea, found in both Rousseau and Arendt, of education as formation and becoming. The idea of children as political actors has become increasingly influential within the contexts of childhood studies, educational as well as child-welfare policies. As a result, in the general understanding of the role of children in society, the conceptual boundaries between adults and children have become blurred. From the point of view of educational philosophy, this is interesting because it highlights the problematic tension between an image of the child as already complete and the foundational idea of education as a process of formation. Using Taika Waititi’s recent film Hunt for the Wilderpeople as an example we aim to illustrate some of the possible consequences of blurring the boundaries between generations and to investigate how this might impact our understanding of education as formation in the making of moral human beings.
In this paper I suggest that Spinoza's understanding of virtue and collective flourishing, rooted... more In this paper I suggest that Spinoza's understanding of virtue and collective flourishing, rooted in his psychological and ethical egoism, offers a fresh perspective on the question of egoism in education. To this end, I suggest an understanding of the teacher as egoist, where the self-seeking of the teacher is conditioned by – and runs parallel to – the flourishing of his or her students. The understanding of the egoistic teacher is offered as a productive counter-image to the altruistic ideal in education critically discussed by Chris Higgins (2003; 2011) as well as to the conception of the teacher as primarily a provider of services and the student as a consumer on an educational market.
There are two different interpretations of the state in Spinoza. On the one hand, the state is in... more There are two different interpretations of the state in Spinoza. On the one hand, the state is interpreted as an individual in a literal sense (Matheron, 1969; Zac, 1963) and on the other hand it is interpreted as an individual in a metaphorical sense (McShea, 1975; Den Uyl, 1983; Rice, 1990). Depending on what kind of individual the state is taken to be – a literal or a metaphorical – the state's role in education varies radically. The focus of this paper is to outline some consequences of Spinoza's political philosophy and of his metaphysics of individuation for the role of the state in education. … Is the education of citizens a private matter or is it primarily a concern for the state? Throughout the history of political and educational philosophy this question has remained central. Different philosophers have answered the question in different ways and different periods have witnessed different ways of organizing public education in response to it. At the root of this question is another question. This question concerns how we understand the state and how we construe the relation between the state and the well-being of its citizens. How we understand the state, in turn, depends on if we consider it the natural extension of the will and striving of its individual citizens or if we consider its main purpose to be to protect its citizens from each other and from external threats. Spinoza's state has frequently been taken as a prime example of the state as an individual in an ontological sense, that is as a body politic comparable to a human body only much more complex (see Matheron, 1969; Kwek, 2015). This interpretation is typically founded on Spinoza's reasoning about the ideal state (TTP, Ch. 5.20; TP, Ch. 5.6; E3p7s2) 1 presupposing fully rational citizens striving in unison with a united will. Spinoza is, however, very clear that this state is unrealistic (TTP, Ch. 5.21-22; TP, Ch. 6.3) insofar as " the free man " (that is, a fully rational person) is an unattainable ideal. Because humans are largely determined by their surroundings they can never be completely liberated from external influences (passions). Humans are always to some extent constituted through encounters with external bodies and their knowledge about the external world is always necessarily limited. Because of this, humans commonly misunderstand themselves and the world and they end up competing over the same things, believing these things (such as money or reputation) falsely to lead to satisfaction and peace of mind. In order to protect people from each other, the state is established so as to compensate for their ignorance by deterring people from causing one another harm.
On trouve chez Spinoza deux types de modèles (peut-être s'agit-il d'ailleurs de deux interprétati... more On trouve chez Spinoza deux types de modèles (peut-être s'agit-il d'ailleurs de deux interprétations différentes de ce qui correspondrait le mieux à l'idée que Spinoza se fait d'un modèle). En observant et en comparant ces deux types de modèles, on pourrait conclure que l'un est pertinent d'un point de vue pédagogique, et que l'autre ne l'est pas (ou bien moins). Curieusement, celui qui n'est pas pertinent d'un point de vue pédagogique ressemble beaucoup au modèle promu par la tradition néo-aristotélicienne, à savoir une personne digne d'admiration. Dans cette tradition, l'admiration est censée être déclenchée par des individus au comportement vertueux. Ces modèles sont perçus comme suprêmement admirables parce que moralement infaillibles. Chez Spinoza, ce premier type de modèle est introduit sous la forme de « modèle de la nature humaine » (à savoir, de l'homme libre / homo liber) dans la Quatrième Partie de l'Éthique (de la proposition 66 à la proposition 72). L'autre type de modèle est faillible mais applicable en pratique en ce qu'il est affectivement en phase avec l'imagination des personnes auxquelles il s'adresse. Ce deuxième type apparaît dans le Traité Théologico-Politique, sous la forme de la dualité des « Prophètes » et des « Docteurs ». Dans cet exposé, mon objectif sera cependant de laisser de côté cette deuxième conception du modèle pour tenter d'étudier ce qui est pédagogiquement intéressant dans les modèles et dans l'exemplarité elle-même, pour ce qui concerne l'adaptation des récits collectifs, la dynamique entre l'imagination et la raison, et l'importance pédagogique d'être en phase avec les dispositions affectives, c'est-à-dire avec l'ingenium de celui à qui l'on s'adresse.
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Papers by Johan Dahlbeck
Readers will benefit from a succinct introduction to Spinoza’s political philosophy and from an account of civic education that is based on careful exegetical work. It draws conclusions only hinted at in Spinoza’s own writings.
The book begins by outlining the free will problem in education, before expanding on a philosophical understanding of autonomy and how it is seen as an educational ideal. It considers Spinoza’s determinism and discusses his denial of moral responsibility. Later chapters consider the relationship between causal determinism and autonomy, the educational implications of understanding free will and how free will can be utilised as a valuable fiction in education.
This book will be of great interest to academics and postgraduate students in the field of education, especially those with an interest in moral education and philosophy of education. It will also be of interest to those in the fields of philosophy and psychology and specifically those focusing on the free will problem, on Spinoza studies, and on the relation between moral psychology and external influence.
In providing an educational reading of Spinoza’s moral theory, this book sets up a critical dialogue between educational theory and recent studies which highlight the centrality of ethics in Spinoza’s overall philosophy. By placing his work in a contemporary educational context, chapters explore a counterintuitive conception of education as an ethical project, aimed at overcoming the desire to seek short-term satisfaction and troubling the influential concept of the student as consumer. This book also considers how education, from a Spinozistic point of view, may be approached in terms of a kind of cognitive therapy serving to further a more scientifically adequate understanding of the world and aimed at combating prejudices and superstition.
Spinoza and Education demonstrates that Spinoza’s moral theory can further an educational ideal, where notions of freedom and self-preservation provide the conceptual core of a coherent philosophy of education. As such, it will appeal to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of philosophy of education, theory of education, critical thinking, philosophy, ethics, and Spinoza studies.
Education for sustainable development is targeted specifically as it offers some interesting examples of educational situations where children are working with ethical decision making and where ethical principles – manifested in the form of universal human rights – are commonly invoked. These examples are analyzed in terms of paradigmatic examples as they are taken to say something about the conditions for conceptualizing ethics in contemporary education. Looking at texts produced or commonly referred to within the discourse of education for sustainable development, the four articles of this thesis are looking to make visible some basic assumptions necessary for understanding and making sense of the examples looked at. The paradigmatic examples range from official documents on children’s rights to various forms of teaching materials produced within the discourse of education for sustainable development.
The Kantian concept of the good will is identified as a useful way of describing the imagined link between principles and actions, facilitating the general understanding of the process whereby children are anticipated to make good ethical decisions in educational situations. The concept of the good will is, in turn, dependent on some form of transcendent ethics where ethical principles are presumed to exist independent of historical and social changes.
Through the concept of immanent ethics, the presumed stability of the relation between principles and actions is scrutinized and destabilized. This is so as it introduces intrinsic dimensions of change and particularity into the overarching ethical scheme. Without the seemingly stable guarantors of universally valid ethical principles, the educational aspects of ethics appear to take on new characteristics, demanding the construction of new problems and the formulation of new questions regarding the relation between ethics and education.