Kant’s pedagogical thought and current problems of education

Abstract

Reflection on education has a central place in Kantian anthropology. The human being can only become human through education. In my analysis of Kant’s standpoint, I identify the characteristics of education that underlie Kantian anthropology: the exclusive predisposition of humans to education, the duty of a human to be educated, the communicative nature of education, education as a product and goal of humanity, the continuous development of education plans and education as a tool to improve humanity. In interpreting the latter idea, I reveal the specific optimism and pessimism of Kant’s pedagogical thought. Further, I analyse the key characteristics of education to transfer Kantian ideas to the present context. I also reformulate current problems in education in comparison to, and with the help of, Kantian pedagogical ideas. These issues are the correlation between Kant’s pedagogical anthropologism and the problem of artificial intelligence, the transformation of the teacher-student relationship, extended adolescence, personal growth of the educator, the consequences of education digitalisation, the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet in education, the effect of an information society on education, and the role of the state in education. I conclude that commitment to Kantian principles in contemporary education is nominal rather than substantial and that embracing these principles is complicated by the pervasiveness of modern technology in human life. Overall, Kant’s pedagogical theory is the perfect reference point for an optimistic outlook on education.