Visiting Philosophy Lecturer Has Paper Accepted for Publication

A College of Saint Mary philosophy professor recently had a research paper accepted for publication.

Dr. Vasfi Ozen, visiting lecturer of philosophy, learned that his paper, “Schopenhauer on Inner Awareness and World-Understanding,” will be published in The British Journal for the History of Philosophy, one of the leading journals in the field.

Arthur Schopenhauer was a 19th century German philosopher best known for his 1818 work “The World as Will and Representation,” which characterizes the phenomenal world as the product of a blind noumenal will.

Dr. Ozen’s work argues against a prevailing interpretation of Schopenhauer’s account of inner awareness and world understanding. He also provides an alternative interpretation against figurative and analogical readings.

The publication comes after two years of work. Dr. Ozen faced harsh criticism from some reviewers on the subject matter because it argues against what many philosophers believe about Schopenhauer.

“I knew I had a solid paper,” he said. “I didn’t want to publish it in any other journal. I wanted to publish it in the top places … You must find someone who really understands what you’re doing.”