Education
- Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Kansas, May 2022
Dissertation: “On Willing and the Phantasy of Empathy” - M.A. in Philosophy, University of Kansas, May 2017
- M.A. in Philosophy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, February 2014
- B.A. in Philosophy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, July 2012
- B.Sc. in Business-Economics, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, February 2011
Research Interests
- European Philosophy
- Moral Psychology
- Philosophy of Action
- Business Ethics
- Philosophy of Mind (Bodily Awareness, Self-Knowledge, Theories of Consciousness)
- Social & Political Philosophy
- Meta-Ethics and Normative Ethics
Biography
Dr. Vasfi O. Özen holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Kansas, where his dissertation investigated the relationship between empathy, willing, and human self-understanding. His work is situated at the intersection of European philosophy, moral psychology, and the philosophy of action, drawing particularly on the 19th-century post-Kantian tradition and contemporary debates in ethics and self-knowledge.
He currently serves as a Full-Time Lecturer in the Academic Writing Program at Koç University in Istanbul. Dr. Özen has taught a wide range of philosophy and writing courses at institutions such as Koç University, Boğaziçi University, and the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska.
His recent publications include contributions to Nietzsche-Studien and the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. In addition to his academic writing, Dr. Özen is an active member of several international philosophical associations and serves as a reviewer for reputable journals and publishers. His research and teaching are deeply informed by ongoing inquiries into moral and political philosophy, bodily awareness, and the ethics of interpersonal understanding.
Website: www.vasfiozen.com
Selected Publications
- “Schopenhauer on Inner Awareness and World-Understanding,” British Journal for the History of Philosophy, February 2023.
- “Nietzsche’s Compassion,” Nietzsche-Studien: Internationales Jahrbuch für die Nietzsche-Forschung, August 2021.
Professional Affiliations
- American Philosophical Association
- European Philosophical Society for the Study of Emotions
- Friedrich Nietzsche Society
- North American Division of the Schopenhauer Society
- North American Nietzsche Society
- North American Society for Social Philosophy
