Educação e formação moral em Kant

Abstract

In his lectures On Pedagogy, Kant considers education a condition of possibility for the exercise of freedom. Freedom is understood by the philosopher as the ability to dominate impulses and natural wills, so that man can act in accordance with the principles established by reason, since only free will can turn man into an autonomous human being. Kant considers education an art which requires in its achievement a foundation on practical principles, such as discipline and instruction, legal training (understood by Kant as a catechism of right) and moral education anchored in the laws of reason. Based on the relationship between moral and political education, this research analyzes the link between education, morality and the idea of political education understood as a way to citizenship in a cosmopolitan sense. Thus, our goal is to demonstrate that in the construction of his pedagogical project, Kant establishes the conditions for the modern man´s education in accordance with the concept of enlightenment understood in a critical sense and based on the idea of a cosmopolitan education. Kant´s conception of education can help us reflect on the contemporary education as an exercise of life in society, which implies an effective citizenship actively connected to respect and responsibility.