칸트의 덕 개념과 도덕교육

Abstract

Discussions about moral education based on Kant’s philosophy generally seem to revolve around the awakening and enlightenment of morality and good will. In such cases, educators face the difficult problem of coercion to exercise freedom. However, Kant’s moral philosophy does not ignore discussions related to the use of virtue and its cultivation, in addition to good will and sense of duty. If discussions about moral education are developed more based on Kant’s concept of virtue than on Kant’s one of morality, new concepts of educational practices may be developed. With this critical awareness in mind, the author seeks to find a more practical and realistic form of moral education that is based on duty ethics by paying attention to the concept of virtue discussed in Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals. For Kant, virtue is acquired as a result of empirically strengthening the power and capacity of good will in response to specific resistance. Therefore, virtue progresses to the self-domination of practical reason, which governs and dominates passions through respect for the law. In this respect, moral education, which is the acquisition of virtue, is more than awareness and enlightenment of good will. This is because virtue includes not only the ‘autonomy’ of practical reason, but also the moral strength of ‘self-dominance’ of practical reason. However, this does not mean that virtue goes beyond good will. It just adds a human and personal realization(achievement) of good will. A virtuous person is the result of education as training and practice.