6. The Will to Know and the Radical Commitment to Knowledge in Higher Education

The world’s challenges, including climate change, income inequality around the globe, civil wars, and many other concerns, require what Karl Jaspers denotes ‘a radical commitment to knowledge’ on the part of researchers and students at higher education institutions. As developing academics and established citizens of the world, students are the ones who will introduce new ideas about, and perspectives on, the challenges the world faces. This essay takes Ronald Barnett’s concepts of ‘the ontological turn’, ‘student being and becoming’ and ‘a will to learn’ and Karl Jaspers’ theory of ‘the Encompassing’ as its points of departure, which lead to a focus on Karl Jaspers’ concept of ‘the will to know’. This essay aims to develop a perspective on the student’s being and becoming with regard to the will to know.