Education as the moral and human development of humankind according to Immanuel Kant

Abstract

This article focuses on Kant’s conception of education. Its aim is to promote education in today’s world. Three questions, in a sense, summarise the content of the article: what is education? Why education? What are the conditions under which it is possible? According to Kant, education is a necessity for human beings. The reason for this is that human beings come into the world in a raw state; they have no inherent nature, and must still create their own identity. This is why human beings must be educated. We must not neglect education because, as Kant says, human beings ‘are only what education makes of them’. Education is necessary to become fully human. It is a process of humanising the human being. Its aim is to help the child become increasingly human and to move from their animal nature to humanity. This transition is possible because human beings are both capable of improvement and free. In practical terms, to educate means developing one’s own capacities and passing on values, which, within the Kantian framework, only makes sense if the anthropological project is sustainable.