Becoming human

Kant's philosophy of education and human nature

Robert Louden

pp. 705-727

in: The Palgrave Kant handbook, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

Louden argues that, appearances to the contrary, philosophy of education is of central importance to Kant's overall philosophical program. Its chief importance stems largely from the commanding position that education holds within his theory of human nature. In Kant's view, education is fundamentally about the effort to realize our humanity. As he proclaims near the beginning of the Lectures on Pedagogy: "The human being can only become human through education. He is nothing except what education makes out of him" (LP 9:443).

Cited authors

Kant Immanuel