An Interpretation of the Educational Process from the Perspective of Kant’s Philosophy of History and Legal-Political Theory

Abstract

Although he considered education to be one of the greatest challenges facing the individual and the human race in general, Kant (Immanuel Kant) left behind relatively little written testimony on the subject, which is why his works on education are best interpreted if placed in the broader context of his philosophy. Kant's understanding of education is most often interpreted from the perspective of his ethics, where the importance of the moral development and cultivation of each individual is particularly emphasized. The topic of this article, however, will be somewhat different. Instead of the usual analysis of one's duties to oneself and emphasizing the importance of developing one's own talents for the purpose of personal growth and education, attention will be paid to examining the phenomenon of education from the perspective of Kant's philosophy of history and legal-political theory. We will see that this perspective is very important, because it shows us that the goals of education coincide to a large extent with the goals of the historical-political process. Also, educational and historical-political processes take place in parallel and influence each other. That is why in this paper we will examine their mutual relationship. We will argue that without progress in one field, there is no progress in another: the full development of educational potentials is impossible to achieve in an underdeveloped society.