Transformation and Education to an Inclusive Community from Hegel’s Dialectical Perspective

Abstract

Authoritarian, racist and anti-democratic tendencies have been on the rise in many societies around the world in recent years, partly as a reaction to the multiple crises of the present. In contrast, I argue for the idea of an inclusive community, which aims to recognize and include all individuals. To this end, I am guided by Hegel's dialectical philosophy. With his theory of ethical life, Hegel emphasizes that recognition is not merely a legal and moral claim, but must also be conceived in its concrete social realization. This recognition ultimately concerns the human being as a concrete individual, and it concerns cultural identities, without reducing individuals to these. For this to succeed, education is required. The transformation to an inclusive community requires inclusive institutions which are open in order to enable freedom and participation for all citizens. However, it also requires a specific form of inclusive education that is also geared towards the goal of inclusion. Education and the education system should be inclusive, and on the same time, it is about making inclusion itself the subject of education. This includes understanding diversity not as a threat, but as enrichment in terms of one’s own education. At the end, I argue for an inclusive understanding of school education that also strives to compensate for inequality based on origin by providing children in schools with individual support according to their respective needs. Schools should establish a culture of recognition in which diversity is valued and every individual is recognized as such and supported in its needs and potential.