Immanuel Kant

This chapter focuses on Immanuel Kant’s advocacy of public education and its impact on moral foundation reflected in an individual’s call for duty and personal responsibility. It casts light on how Kant’s life as a philosopher and a university professor set a foundation for him to impart his moral precepts as an educator and, through his advocacy of formal education, to help youths exercise their full judgment in differentiating wrong from right. Kant believed that education would enable youths to engage in practical reasoning embodied in human respect through dialogue, thus influencing inner human disposition. The chapter also views how Kant influenced his followers in the public sphere to carry forward his philosophical legacy and educational focus toward the moral pursuit through public education to strengthen a community’s moral fabric. Kant acknowledged the unique worldview each student brings to an educational institution. However, he was also aware that parents and educators have to collaboratively shape the moral and academic journey of the student beyond each student’s family and cultural view. Kant embraced public education as a reinforcement of human dignity, empowerment, respect for human rights, and a force toward the moral perfection of humanity. Kant’s philosophical view of youth empowerment points toward breaking the barriers between individuals’ moral comfort and collective moral responsibility to strengthen societal moral fiber. However, such interaction inevitably does not exclude everyone’s worldview of right or wrong based on one’s family and/or societal orientation.