History of philosophy

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Ongoing dissertations

Supervision: apl. Prof. Dr. Dirk Stederoth

Short vita:

  • 08|2020 - today
    Lecturer in Philosophy, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • 06|2020 - today
    PhD scholarship holder, University of Kassel
  • 10|2019 - 01|2021
    Project coordinator of the "stütz2learn" project of AGiL gemeinnützige Arbeitsförderungsgesellschaft im Landkreis Kassel mbH
  • 10|2019 - 07|2020
    Project coordinator of the "15+5" project of AGiL gemeinnützige Arbeitsförderungsgesellschaft im Landkreis Kassel mbH
  • 02|2019 - today
    Lecturer for Sociology and Techniques of Scientific Work, Kassel University of Applied Sciences for Police and Administration
  • 10|2018 - today
    Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Kassel
  • 09|2018 - 09|2019
    Project coordinator and administrator, Wissen am Stern gGmbH, Kassel
  • 2014 - 2018
    Master's degree program "Philosophy of Forms of Knowledge", University of Kassel
  • 2010 - 2014
    Bachelor's degree program "Philosophy-Arts-Media", University of Hildesheim

 

Publications:

 

Summary of the doctoral project "Teaching as an event"

In the dissertation, teaching-learning situations - especially in the university context - are to be examined more closely and teaching-learning situations are to be thought of as events.

One focus will be on the special position of the 'real'/'personal' encounter of two (or more) people within a teaching-learning event. Digitalization developments in particular should provide a framework for discussion, as they enable teachers and learners to teach and learn together in a spatially separated and temporally shifted manner, and a 'real' encounter is no longer absolutely necessary. However, this spatial-temporal shift poses some complications for the establishment of an interpersonal relationship between teachers and learners - as seems absolutely necessary in this work for the creation of teaching-learning events.

In order to investigate the change in interpersonal relationships in the context of a teaching event in the game of advancing digitalization, the dissertation project first develops definitions of teaching and teaching as an event and highlights the interpersonal dimensions of teaching.

The central thesis behind the overall investigation is that good (university) teaching can only take place when teachers and learners meet in a personal encounter. This goes hand in hand with the thesis that digitalization tendencies, in addition to the many advantages such as availability, low-threshold access, opening up target groups, etc., involve the danger of thinking of teaching and learning as functional systems in which the space for interpersonal teaching events will be negligible. Digitalization makes teaching and learning more individual in certain areas, but not more personal. However, it is precisely this personal dimension that, according to the thesis, makes for good university teaching.

Verena Häseler: Summary of the PhD project "Teaching as an event/an occurrence"

In the dissertation, teaching-learning situations - especially in a university context - are to be examined more closely and teaching-learning situations are thought of as events/occurences.

One focus will be the significance of a 'real' / 'personal' meeting of two (or more) people within a teaching-learning event. Above all, the developments in digitization will provide a framework for the discussion, as they enable teachers and learners to teach and learn separately from one another and at different times. A 'real' face-to-face-encounter is no longer absolutely necessary. However, this spatio-temporal shift harbors some complications for the establishment of an interpersonal relationship between teacher and student - as it appears to be absolutely necessary in this work for the creation of teaching-learning events, that teachers and learners meet each other face-to-face.

In order to explore and analyze the change in interpersonal relationships within the framework of teaching as an event / occurence and in the context of advancing digitization, this doctoral thesis project first develops definitions of teaching (thought of in a classical way) and teaching as an event / occurence and highlights the interpersonal dimensions of teaching.

The central thesis behind the analysis is, that good (university) teaching can only occur/happen when teachers and learners meet in a personal encounter. This goes hand in hand with the thesis that digitalization trends, in addition to the many advantages such as availability, low-threshold access, opening up the target groups, etc., pose the threat of thinking that teaching and learning are functional systems. In thinking that teaching and learning is just a functional system, space for interpersonal teaching events will become negligibly small. Digitalization makes teaching and learning in more individual in certain ways, but not more personal. However, it is precisely this personal dimension that, according to this thesis, constitutes good university teaching.

Contact: v.haeseler[at]uni-kassel[dot]de or: www.philosophike.de

Completed dissertations

Short vita:

  • since 10/2016
    Doctorate
  • 10/2005 - 01/2015
    Master's degree in philosophy and art studies at the University of Kassel
  • 1998 - today
    Freelance & publicly appointed translator
  • 1998 - today
    Psychotherapist in private practice

 

Publications:

"Sich selbst gehören" - Or: On seeing God in: Blickspiele: Approaches to Bursfelde Monastery: Approaches to Bursfelde Monastery, Martina Sitt and Barbara Uppenkamp (editors), ConferencePoint 2014

Summary of the doctoral project
"Autonomy-oriented education in the current competency model. The impact of the optimization culture on the concept of autonomy."

The dissertation project focuses on the concept of autonomy and its meaning (change and/or loss of meaning) within the current educational landscape. The aim is to investigate how the increasing relevance of empirical educational research and the emergence of the competence model have affected the goals of the educational process and the understanding and role of autonomy to date. The reasons for and circumstances surrounding this change will also be analyzed.

The thesis is as follows: Since the Enlightenment, which shaped the concept of education and the maturity it implied, social reality has changed so much that the education system, whose task it was to prepare people for this reality, called for reforms. This also affected the concept of education itself. However, as this was strongly characterized by its meaning, another model, the competency model, was found to be more suitable. The primacy of the competency model brought about a decisive change, namely the phenomenon of evaluation culture, with which acquired competencies can be measured, reproduced and compared.

The humanistic educational postulates, primarily that of maturity, seem unsuitable for the new model because they defy quantification. The concepts of classical educational theory have been replaced by a series of competencies that only appear to do justice to the meaning of autonomy. These illusory meanings, which the competency model owes to its sometimes excessively abstract terminology and concepts, will be analyzed and reviewed.

 

Silvia Noall Conrad: Summary of the PhD project "Autonomously-oriented education in the current competency model. The impact of optimization culture on the concept of autonomy."

The focus of this dissertation project lies on the concept of autonomy and its meaning (change and/or even loss thereof) within the current educational landscape. It will explore how the increasing role of empirical educational research and the emergence of the competency model have affected the goals of the educational process, as well as the understanding and role of autonomy to date. The reasons and circumstances surrounding this change will also be analyzed. The working hypothesis is as follows:

Since the Enlightenment, which shaped the concept of education with the implied maturity, social reality has changed so much that the educational system, whose mission it was to prepare people for said reality, required reforms. This also affected the concept of education itself but since its terms and theories were heavily occupied with their traditional meanings, another model, the competency model, was found to be more appropriate. The primacy of the competency model brought about a decisive change, the phenomenon of the evaluation culture in order to be able to measure, reproduce and compare the acquired competencies.

The humanistic educational postulates, but superficially that of maturity, apparently unsuitable for the new model because of the impossibility of quantifying it, were replaced by a series of competencies, that only attempt to give the appearance of autonomy. These sham meanings, which the competency model owes to its sometimes excessively abstract designation and terminology, are to be analyzed and processed.

Contact: noall.conrad[at]t-online[dot]de

Short vita:

  • since 2020
    Lecturer in Political Science at the Kassel University of Applied Sciences for Police and Administration
  • since 2019
    PhD scholarship holder of the Hans Böckler Foundation
  • since 2018
    Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Kassel
  • 08.2018 - 07.2019
    Project manager "Blickwinkel Zukunft" at the Grone Education Center Kassel
  • 11.2017 - 05.2018
    Pedagogical assistant at the Bildungswerk der nordhessischen Wirtschaft
  • 09.2015 - 02.2016
    Research stay at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai (India)
  • 2014 - 2017
    Master's degree program "Philosophy of Forms of Knowledge" at the University of Kassel
  • 2010 - 2013
    Bachelor's degree in Political Science & Philosophy at the University of Kassel
  • 2007 - 2010
    Freelance journalist, e.g. for Badische Zeitung, BILD Halle/Leipzig, Westfalen-Blatt

 

Publications:

 

 

Summary of the doctoral project: "Investigation of contemporary administrative technocracy and its influence on the anarchistic character of scientific knowledge."

In his dissertation, Simon Rettenmaier analyzes the epistemologically relevant influences of contemporary administrative technocracy on scientific research. Based on the reflections of the scientific theorists Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend, Margherita von Brentano and Helmut Spinner, he shows the often unpredictable processes of scientific innovations of past centuries and emphasizes a functional logic that he attests an anarchistic character in the sense of an unconditionally pluralistic one. If one now confronts this anarchistic character of scientific knowledge with what is considered to be an entrepreneurial university today, it is reasonable to assume that university management makes scientific knowledge impossible from the outset at many points through university management, ministerial decisions and, not least, through predominantly third-party funding with target and key figures. The aim of the dissertation is to refute and/or refute this assumption through case analyses and expert interviews.

Simon rettenmaier: Summary of the PhD project "Analysis of the current administrative technology and its influence on the anarchistic character of scientific knowledge."

In his dissertation, Simon Rettenmaier analyzes the epistemologically relevant influences of the current administrative technocracy on scientific research. Based on the thoughts of Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend, Margherita von Brentano and Helmut Spinner, which are all knwon theorists in the field of philosophy of science, Simon Rettenmaier shows the often unpredictable processes of scientific innovations of past centuries. He highlights a functional logic, which he describes as having an anarchistic and unconditional pluralistic character.

Confronting the anarchistic character of scientific knowledge with, what is now considered an entrepreneurial university, it is reasonable to assume that university management through university management, ministerial decisions and last but not least through predominantly third-party funding with target and key figures will make scientific knowledge impossible from the start. The aim of Simon Rettenmaier's dissertation is to reinforce and / or invalidate these assumptions through case analysis and expert interviews.

Contact: simon.rettenmaier[at]uni-kassel[dot]de or: www.philosophike.de

Vita:

  • since 2024
    University of Darmstadt
  • since 2020
    Head of department, child and youth welfare - Caritas Diocese of Fulda
  • 05/2015 - 07/2017
    Social pedagogue in child and youth welfare, Caritas Diocese of Fulda
  • 08/2017 - 11/2020
    Pedagogical specialist service, child and youth welfare Caritas Diocese of Fulda
  • 09/2018 - 05/2019
    Management of the pilot project "Together" in the context of intercultural and interreligious dialog (Caritas Diocese of Fulda)
  • 10/2018 - 04/2019
    Seminar leader BASIS - Psychosocial Basic Competencies for the Teaching Profession at the University of Kassel
  • since 2015
    Lecturer at the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Kassel
  • since 2019
    Lecturer at the Institute of Social Welfare/Social Work
  • 10/2019 - 04/2020
    Lecturer at the International University of Cooperative Education (Iba) for Social Pedagogy and Social Management
  • 10/2002 - 01/2009
    Master's degree in philosophy and sociology

 

Publications:

Editorships

10/2020 Pedagogy, society and politics. Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's general pedagogy and its relationship to Karl Marx and Marxism

09/2019 with Stederoth, Dirk and Thole, Werner: Die Befähigung des Menschen zum Menschen. Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's critical theory of education, Wiesbaden: Springer VS

2018 with Akel, Alexander: Karl Marx - Philosophy, Pedagogy, Social Theory and Politics. Topicality and perspectives of Marx's philosophy of practice, Kassel 2018: Kassel University Press

Articles in anthologies and journals

06/2021 i.E. with Dirk Stederoth: Philosophy and Social Work, In: Thole, Werner (ed.): Grundriss Soziale Arbeit. An introductory handbook, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag

01/2021 i.E. Review of: Fritz Reheis: The resonance strategy. Why we need to rethink sustainability. A plea for the rediscovery of time, Munich 2019, In: Widersprüche. Journal for socialist politics in the education, health and social sectors

01/2021 i.E. Soziale Arbeit und Bildung - Soziale Arbeit als Stimulans einer kritischen Bildung in Zeiten des autoritären Bildungs-Kapitalismus, In: Widersprüche. Journal for socialist politics in the education, health and social sectors. (peer reviewed)

10/2020 Social work as a practice of emancipative social criticism - (social) pedagogical food for thought following Theodor W. Adorno's Critical Marxism, In: Sünker, Heinz (ed.): Theodor W. Adorno. Actuality and Perspectives of his Critical Theory, Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot

10/2020 Taking a stand - Against the neoliberal occupation of education, in: philosophike-blog/https://philosophike.de

07/2020 i.E. General education as real humanism. Karl Marx's critical humanism as a challenge for schools and education, In: Oberlechner, Manfred/Duval, Patrick/Rasheed, Shaireen (eds.): Konzepte für einen neuen Humanismus und die Schule der Zukunft, Frankfurt am Main: Wochenschau Verlag

09/2019 "The concrete approach of a liberation pedagogy ..." - Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's concept of a liberation pedagogy and the contours of a practice-philosophical educational work. In: Stederoth, Dirk/Novkovic, Dominik/Thole, Werner (eds.): Die Befähigung des Menschen zum Menschen. Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's critical theory of education, Wiesbaden: Springer VS

2018 "...es kömmt darauf an, sie zu verändern" - Karl Marx's philosophy of revolutionary practice and the implications of a critical-materialist theory of education. In: Novkovic, Dominik/Akel, Alexander (eds.): Karl Marx - Philosophy, Pedagogy, Social Theory and Politics. Topicality and Perspectives of Marx's Philosophy of Practice, Kassel 2018: Kassel University Press, pp. 199-226

2018 with Akel, Alexander: On the 200th birthday of Karl Marx. In: Novkovic, Dominik/Akel, Alexander (eds.): Karl Marx - Philosophy, Pedagogy, Social Theory and Politics. Topicality and Perspectives of Marx's Philosophy of Practice, Kassel 2018: Kassel University Press, pp. 9-20

2018 with Akel, Alexander: Der Humanismus der Befreiung des jungen Marx und die Frage einer kritisch-materialistischen Bildungstheorie. In: Das Argument 329. journal for philosophy and social sciences. Marx 200 and Sixty-eight 50, issue 5/2018, pp. 706-717

2018 "Full and free development of every individual". The significance of Marx's philosophy of human emancipation for Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's critical-materialist theory of education. In: Bernhard, Armin/Eble, Lukas/Kunert, Simon (eds.): Our Marx. Potentials and perspectives of his theory for pedagogy, Weinheim/Basel 2018: Beltz Juventa, pp. 229-246

2018 with Akel, Alexander: The real humanism of the young Marx and the question of educational theory with an emancipatory mission. In: Contradiction. Munich Journal of Philosophy, 66, 2018, pp. 51-70

2016 with Akel, Alexander: Karl Marx - a misunderstood educational theorist? Karl Marx and the question of the forgotten theory of education in his work. In: Contributions to the history of the labor movement, 58th year, 2016, pp. 131-150

Dissertation: "Pedagogy, Politics and Society - Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's General Political Pedagogy and its Relationship to Karl Marx and Marxism"

The dissertation focuses on Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's attempt to conceptualize a general political pedagogy or critical theory of education and its relationship to Karl Marx and the practice-philosophical Western European type of Marxism. The shift in perspective adopted in the present study enables a new look at the life and work of the educationalist H.-J. Heydorn, who can be located in the intellectual environment of Frankfurt Critical Theory. Anyone seeking a radically critical and politically reflective counter-position in the face of the current neo-liberal education reform offensive will not be able to ignore Heydorn, a lateral thinker, political intellectual and convinced socialist anchored in the oppositional New Left in the context of the 1968 student protest movement, who has been neglected in contemporary educational science discourse.

Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's rebellion against the bourgeois conventions of the pedagogical academic discipline and his melancholic self-questioning of the failed history of pedagogical thought evoke a re-theorization of Marx's philosophy of practice and the project of humanism and emancipation that it underpins, which he intends to reconstruct with inimitable virtuosity as an implicit theory of social and individual education. This study provides a detailed overview of the most important stages and sources of inspiration of his thought, which culminate in Marx's philosophical work. With systematic-theoretical reference to the practice-philosophically accentuated Western European Marxist constellations of the 20th century, the theory-constitutive significance of the materialist paradigm is worked out with regard to Heydorn's implicit justification of a practice-philosophically inspired educational work under the conditions of capitalist rule. Against this background, the thrust of a political pedagogical concept that is oriented towards the needs of children and adolescents and advocates a social emancipation perspective becomes transparent.(Published by Beltz Juventa)

Doninik Novkovic: "Pedagogy, society and politics: Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's General Political Pedagogy and its relationship to Karl Marx and Marxism"

The central focus of this dissertation lies on Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's attempt to conceptualize a General Political Pedagogy, or rather critical educational theory, and its relationship to Karl Marx as well as the Marxism prevalent in philosophy of practice and western European thought. The shift in perspective adopted in this study allows for a fresh look at the life and work of H.-J. Heydorn, the educational scientist who was part of the intellectual environment surrounding the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. As a political intellectual and convinced socialist who was rooted in the oppositional New Left (Neue Linke) in the larger context of the 1968 student movement, this unconventional thinker is being neglected in the current discourse surrounding educational science. In view of the current neoliberal educational reform campaign, those who seek a counterposition that is both critical of radicalism and has been thoroughly considered from a political standpoint will not get around examining Heydorn.

Heinz-Joachim Heydorn's rebellion against the middle-class conventions of the academic discipline of pedagogy as well as the melancholic self-interrogation of the unsuccessful history of thought within pedagogy evoke a re-theoretisation of Marxist philosophy of practice and the humanism and emancipation project laid out therein. With inimitable virtuosity, it is Heydorn's intention to reconstruct this project as an implicit theory of societal and individual education. This study provides a detailed overview of the most important stages and sources of inspiration within his thinking which find their point of culmination in the philosophical works of Marx. With systematic and theoretical consideration of the western European Marxist constellations within the 20th century that were accentuated by Marxist philosophy of practice, this dissertations aims to present in detail the meaning, as constitutive to the theory, of the materialistic paradigm with regard to Heydorn's implicit justification of an approach to teaching and educating, as inspired by the philosophy of practice, under the conditions of a prevailing capitalist system. Against this background, the course of direction that a concept of political pedagogy would take becomes evident. Such course of direction would be oriented around the needs of children and adolescents and would advocate for a prospective concept of emancipation on a societal level.

Contact: dominik.novkovic[at]yahoo[dot]de

Supervision: PD Dr. Gerhard Schweppenhäuser

Supervision: PD Dr. Helmut Schneider