Johan Dahlbeck is Associate Professor of Education at Malmö University, Sweden. His research interest is in the philosophy of education, focusing especially on the convergence of ethics, political philosophy and educational theory. Dahlbeck has recently published two research monographs: Education and Free Will: Spinoza, Causal Determinism and Moral Formation (Routledge, 2018) and Spinoza and Education: Freedom, Understanding and Empowerment (Routledge, 2016), as well as co-edited a recent special issue on exemplarism in Spinoza and Arendt (Ethics and Education, 15:2, 2020). Dahlbeck’s research is also published in academic journals such as Journal of Philosophy of Education, Studies in Philosophy and Education, Ethics and Education, Philosophy of Education Yearbook, and Educational Philosophy and Theory as well as in anthologies such as International Handbook of Philosophy of Education (ed. Paul Smeyers, 2018). Dahlbeck is currently a programcoordinator of the international MA program in Educational Theory at Malmö University.

• Chapter 1. Spinoza’s Political Theory and Its Consequences for Civic Education: On Prophets, Philosophers, and Educators.- Chapter 2. Illusions and Fictions: Educating the Imagination.- Chapter 3. The Pedagogical Importance of Ingenium: Exemplarism and Popular Narratives.- Chapter 4. Teaching Doctrines to People: Manipulation and Civic Education.- Chapter 5. Spinoza’s Lesson to the Contemporary Political Imagination.

“Most exciting about Johan Dahlbeck’s Spinoza: Fiction and Manipulation in Civic Education is his constant concern for people who are not yet rational and what educators can do to bring them to reason: education is indeed grasped in a truly radical and primary sense ... . Dahlbeck’s book offers a plea not to teach critical thinking to students.” (Pascal Sévérac, Educational Theory, June 26, 2025)“This book is a brief, tightly packaged, and expertly elucidated philosophical study, which never strays needlessly from its central theme, and is all the better for it. … the book successfully accomplishes what it sets out to do, offering an insightful contribution to our understanding of the problem of fiction and indoctrination in education. It is highly engaging and deserves attention from philosophers of education and those with an interest in Spinoza alike. I strongly recommend it.” (Aurélien Daudi, Educational Philosophy and Theory, February 6, 2023)

Johan Dahlbeck is Associate Professor of Education at Malmö University, Sweden. His research interest is in the philosophy of education, focusing especially on the convergence of ethics, political philosophy and educational theory. Dahlbeck has recently published two research monographs: Education and Free Will: Spinoza, Causal Determinism and Moral Formation (Routledge, 2018) and Spinoza and Education: Freedom, Understanding and Empowerment (Routledge, 2016), as well as co-edited a recent special issue on exemplarism in Spinoza and Arendt (Ethics and Education, 15:2, 2020). Dahlbeck’s research is also published in academic journals such as Journal of Philosophy of Education, Studies in Philosophy and Education, Ethics and Education, Philosophy of Education Yearbook, and Educational Philosophy and Theory as well as in anthologies such as International Handbook of Philosophy of Education (ed. Paul Smeyers, 2018). Dahlbeck is currently a programcoordinator of the international MA program in Educational Theory at Malmö University.

• Chapter 1. Spinoza’s Political Theory and Its Consequences for Civic Education: On Prophets, Philosophers, and Educators.- Chapter 2. Illusions and Fictions: Educating the Imagination.- Chapter 3. The Pedagogical Importance of Ingenium: Exemplarism and Popular Narratives.- Chapter 4. Teaching Doctrines to People: Manipulation and Civic Education.- Chapter 5. Spinoza’s Lesson to the Contemporary Political Imagination.

“Most exciting about Johan Dahlbeck’s Spinoza: Fiction and Manipulation in Civic Education is his constant concern for people who are not yet rational and what educators can do to bring them to reason: education is indeed grasped in a truly radical and primary sense ... . Dahlbeck’s book offers a plea not to teach critical thinking to students.” (Pascal Sévérac, Educational Theory, June 26, 2025)“This book is a brief, tightly packaged, and expertly elucidated philosophical study, which never strays needlessly from its central theme, and is all the better for it. … the book successfully accomplishes what it sets out to do, offering an insightful contribution to our understanding of the problem of fiction and indoctrination in education. It is highly engaging and deserves attention from philosophers of education and those with an interest in Spinoza alike. I strongly recommend it.” (Aurélien Daudi, Educational Philosophy and Theory, February 6, 2023)

Johan Dahlbeck is Associate Professor of Education at Malmö University, Sweden. His research interest is in the philosophy of education, focusing especially on the convergence of ethics, political philosophy and educational theory. Dahlbeck has recently published two research monographs: Education and Free Will: Spinoza, Causal Determinism and Moral Formation (Routledge, 2018) and Spinoza and Education: Freedom, Understanding and Empowerment (Routledge, 2016), as well as co-edited a recent special issue on exemplarism in Spinoza and Arendt (Ethics and Education, 15:2, 2020). Dahlbeck’s research is also published in academic journals such as Journal of Philosophy of Education, Studies in Philosophy and Education, Ethics and Education, Philosophy of Education Yearbook, and Educational Philosophy and Theory as well as in anthologies such as International Handbook of Philosophy of Education (ed. Paul Smeyers, 2018). Dahlbeck is currently a programcoordinator of the international MA program in Educational Theory at Malmö University.

• Chapter 1. Spinoza’s Political Theory and Its Consequences for Civic Education: On Prophets, Philosophers, and Educators.- Chapter 2. Illusions and Fictions: Educating the Imagination.- Chapter 3. The Pedagogical Importance of Ingenium: Exemplarism and Popular Narratives.- Chapter 4. Teaching Doctrines to People: Manipulation and Civic Education.- Chapter 5. Spinoza’s Lesson to the Contemporary Political Imagination.

“Most exciting about Johan Dahlbeck’s Spinoza: Fiction and Manipulation in Civic Education is his constant concern for people who are not yet rational and what educators can do to bring them to reason: education is indeed grasped in a truly radical and primary sense ... . Dahlbeck’s book offers a plea not to teach critical thinking to students.” (Pascal Sévérac, Educational Theory, June 26, 2025)“This book is a brief, tightly packaged, and expertly elucidated philosophical study, which never strays needlessly from its central theme, and is all the better for it. … the book successfully accomplishes what it sets out to do, offering an insightful contribution to our understanding of the problem of fiction and indoctrination in education. It is highly engaging and deserves attention from philosophers of education and those with an interest in Spinoza alike. I strongly recommend it.” (Aurélien Daudi, Educational Philosophy and Theory, February 6, 2023)