TITLE:
Scientific Vocation in Danger: The University Professor in the Global Era
AUTHORS:
Javier S. Castresana
KEYWORDS:
Vocation, Profession, Human Person, Self, Circumstance, Chance, Freedom, Trajectories in Life
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.10 No.4,
November
30,
2020
ABSTRACT: Being a professor at university demands
thinking about vocation along life. And not only about ones’ vocation but also
about others’. Vocation for teaching, vocation for learning, vocation for
science… Vocation is so important that merits a philosophical approach.
Following one’s own vocation is perhaps the most important task everyone has
to do in one’s own life. Following the dictates of personal vocation is without
a doubt guarantor of a full, authentic life. And, on the contrary, not
following the personal vocation can be one of the reasons for living a life
without meaning. Personal vocation as a task, according to Julián Marías’
philosophy, is introduced in this work, together with the concept of
enthusiasm immersed into the vocational pathway. Vocation among university
professors seems to be in danger in the global world. Possible causes for it
are analyzed.