Starting from a distinction between a critical and an ascetic tradition in philosophy and taking into account their different stances towards the present, the article proposes a practice of philosophy of education within the ascetic tradition. In this tradition, the work of philosophy is in the first place a work on the self--that is, "putting…

Instead of asking how universities can contribute to active citizenship and democratic participation (and seeking for ways to improve their contribution), this article asks what it is that universities, due to their specific mission, have to offer. After describing the transition of the historical university (and its focus on modernisation) to the…

This article explores how universities can function as spaces where a world citizenship takes shape. First, Kant's distinction between the "private use of reason" and "domestic gathering", on the one hand, and the "public use of reason" and "public gathering", on the other, is elucidated. This distinction is used, secondly, to argue that the…

With a view to meeting the demands of the knowledge economy and taking up a leading role in its further development, Europe and its member states are urging universities and institutions for higher education more generally to innovate and modernise themselves. Organisational structures, governance and management systems, curricula and teaching…