James Scott Johnston

Regaining Consciousness: Self-consciousness and Self-cultivation from 1781-present James Scott Johnston

This book examines the interconnections between self-consciousness and self-cultivation (Bildung). Drawing on resources both philosophical and historical, it probes the various ways in which self-cultivation stands or falls on a theory of self-consciousness. Heavily indebted to Classical German Philosophy, this book examines the twists and turns self-cultivation has taken through 200 years of philosophical and educational thought. Self-cultivation in one form or another has always been prevalent in Germany specifically, and Europe generally- even in those cases where varieties of self-cultivation are themselves in opposition to earlier projects and programs. Self-cultivation, however, never became a focus of North American educational theory and this book examines why this is, and what would need to be in place for a theory of self-cultivation to prosper. In the final section, this book examines the requirements for a new theory of self-consciousness in the context of self-cultivation.