ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to connect Spinoza’s moral theory – labeled his ethics of self-preservation – with educational theory. It is argued that this opens up for an intriguing line of thought where Spinoza’s particular brand of psychological egoism can be conceived as a credible foundation for education insofar as the individual human being and the larger social and political body (of which the individual human being is an integrated part) are united in a common striving for self-preservation. This understanding of education as a project aimed at the increased self-preservation and self-empowerment of the teacher and the student makes education into a form of moral education from a Spinozistic perspective. The chapter also confronts some relevant concerns regarding Spinoza’s denial of moral responsibility and how this can be reconciled with a credible moral theory, and in extension, with a credible account of education. In doing so it positions a Spinozistic account of education in relation to two other prominent and influential accounts; namely those of Aristotelian character education and a care ethical approach to education. This allows us to get a better sense of some of the ways that these accounts differ from a Spinozistic account, but it also serves to identify some striking similarities so as to highlight the distinctive characteristics of a Spinozistic conception of education.
