Réflexions sur l'éducation

by Immanuel Kant

Über Pädagogik, ed. by Friedrich Theodor Rink (Königsberg: Friederich Nicolovius, 1803), vi, 146pp. [Ak. 9:439-99] “On Education.” Annette Churton, trans. (London: Kegan Paul, 1899).
Despite its popularity, we know almost nothing of the provenance of the material found in this book—whether Rink based it on one or more (or his own) sets of student notes, or on Kant’s own notes or even marginalia in textbooks that Kant used (either Basedow or Bock). No such materials now exist, if they ever did. The only extant student notes from these lectures (if they are student notes) are what are preserved in Rink’s publication; nor do we have available Kant’s copies of the two textbooks that he used in the lectures, which he gave during four semesters. Rink was a theology student at the university during the last semester Kant taught the course (1786/87), but there's no evidence of him attending the lectures.

Genres: Philosophy, Education, Nonfiction, Classics, France, German Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1803

About the author

Immanuel Kant was an 18th-century philosopher from Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). He's regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of modern Europe & of the late Enlightenment. His most important work is The Critique of Pure Reason, an investigation of reason itself. It encompasses an attack on traditional metaphysics & epistemology, & highlights his own contribution to these areas. Other main works of his maturity are The Critique of Practical Reason, which is about ethics, & The Critique of Judgment, about esthetics & teleology.

Pursuing metaphysics involves asking questions about the ultimate nature of reality. Kant suggested that metaphysics can be reformed thru epistemology. He suggested that by understanding the sources & limits of human knowledge we can ask fruitful metaphysical questions. He asked if an object can be known to have certain properties prior to the experience of that object. He concluded that all objects that the mind can think about must conform to its manner of thought. Therefore if the mind can think only in terms of causality–which he concluded that it does–then we can know prior to experiencing them that all objects we experience must either be a cause or an effect. However, it follows from this that it's possible that there are objects of such a nature that the mind cannot think of them, & so the principle of causality, for instance, cannot be applied outside experience: hence we cannot know, for example, whether the world always existed or if it had a cause. So the grand questions of speculative metaphysics are off limits, but the sciences are firmly grounded in laws of the mind. Kant believed himself to be creating a compromise between the empiricists & the rationalists. The empiricists believed that knowledge is acquired thru experience alone, but the rationalists maintained that such knowledge is open to Cartesian doubt and that reason alone provides us with knowledge. Kant argues, however, that using reason without applying it to experience will only lead to illusions, while experience will be purely subjective without first being subsumed under pure reason. Kant’s thought was very influential in Germany during his lifetime, moving philosophy beyond the debate between the rationalists & empiricists. The philosophers Fichte, Schelling, Hegel and Schopenhauer saw themselves as correcting and expanding Kant's system, thus bringing about various forms of German Idealism. Kant continues to be a major influence on philosophy to this day, influencing both Analytic and Continental philosophy.

Reviews

[Luís · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Education transforms animality into humanity."
"Man can only become man through education. He is only what education makes of him."
"To give an education is not only to adapt the man to the current world but to allow to improve this state."

This book took an area of vital study for me, as I work at a university military institution.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The University of Michigan's Ann Arbor Paperback house should be ashamed of this book. This hardcover edition has nothing but the translated text. There are a few notes by the translator, but that's it. There is not even any indication of the publication history of the text! What ought have been provided is some background about the author, the text and the context in which it appeared so far as the history of educational theory is concerned.

So, here I'll give a little background: Kant was unusually progressive in terms of the politics of his time (the eighteenth century) and place (Prussia). During his lifetime he was censored by the government. Likely his career was hampered by his politics, his class background and his individual appropriation of the pietism of his parents.

Until the end of his life Kant was a supporter of the American and the French revolutions--neither a common position nor one much appreciated by his own monarchical government. Above his desk he had a bust of Rousseau. Throughout his life he maintained relations with persons of all walks of life, frequenting the docks to informally interview mariners for material he'd use in his more popular, subscribed classes on geography, cultural and physical anthropology.

When Kant died his funeral procession was joined by throngs of the ordinary working people of Konigsberg. The official mourners were likely embarrassed to rub elbows with the ignorant masses, but these same unread people may have known more than their betters about where Kant stood about the vital issues of the day: representative government, egalitarianism, political rights and an international body representing all peoples of the world.

For someone daunted by Kant's philosophical German (he practically invented it), this is an accessible text and it does give some idea of the man, his beliefs and why he held them.

[Ali Jones Alkazemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utmerket! Kant starter boken med å forklare det grunnleggende ved oppdragelsekunsten (og trekker såvel paralleller til regjeringkunsten), dette syntes jeg først var veldig kjedelig og overfladisk men i ettertid merker jeg hvor brukbart anerkjennelsen av det grunnleggende var. Kapittelet: Den fysiske oppdragelse, var meget utdatert men fortsatt interessant ettersom jeg fikk litt innsikt i forholdene i Kants tid.
Barnet/eleven er alltid elev av livet og bør bli lært opp til å bære på guds vilje og alltid ta sitt maksim som utgangspunkt for en kosmopolitisk lov dvs. være etisk. Samtidig skal enhver handling ikke være motivert av sammenligningen mellom seg og andre, men alltid ta utgangspunkt i at verdens innhold er deg. Barnet trenger ikke å bli forklart alt, men lærer eventuelt å finne egne premisser for handlingens motiv. osv. osv.
Dette var min første Kant-bok og jeg er meget fornøyd. Anbefales til alle som tenker på forholdet mellom tvang og frihet i pedagogikken, 5/5.

[Ariana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Recen para que apruebe 🙏

[Akvilė Kergytė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kodėl ši knyga nėra privaloma perskaityti visiems žmonėms? Nes ji tikrai puiki. Nebereikia išradinėti dviračio. 😅

[Sanja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solidno, ali mi gotovo ništa nije ostalo u sećanje.

[Bibiana Suarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Principalmente mi acercamiento a Kant se ha debido desde el enfoque político por su ensayo "la paz perpetua", no obstante coincido y tengo ahora el poder de afirmar que en algunos casos Kant resulta ser de los pocos escritores que proponen algo y a su vez, dan unos pasos a seguir. Alguna vez, un compañero me dijo que Kant le parecía muy idealista y puedo entender sus razones, en este tratado de pedagogía constantemente está lanzando nuevas problemáticas en todos los enfoques (religioso, sexual, ético, crianza, moral) y que precisamente son aplicables al día de hoy y muchísimo más en el aula de clase de los colegios colombianos y, sin embargo, Kant llega a proponer la solución de una manera muy concisa que por su sencillez, nos asustaría aplicar totalmente; un ejemplo claro de ello -y que por cierto se me hace una inclinación completamente constructivista- es cuando afirma el como se deben enseñar las cosas sin ánimos de retener todo, y más aplicarlo a su realidad... Porque es mejor tener dominio de pocas cosas, que simplemente abordar muchos conceptos de manera superficial y no tener un juicio crítico y propio de las cosas que se aprenden.

Ahora bien, unos pasos impirtantisimos y -a mi parecer- urgentes de aplicar en los colegios, es la cultura y la moralización de los niños en la cual se busque construir una conciencia propia desde la infancia, y a su vez, una independencia de todos los vicios y vínculos posibles ya que estos no permiten avanzar; puesto que así como hay tiempos para descansar hay también tiempos para trabajar, estudiar y aprender por ende, una formación mediocre (que la vemos hoy en día) es aquella en la que todo el tiempo aspiramos a un descanso o a una recompensa.

Asimismo, podemos ver como desde pequeños a muchos les es sembrado tabúes y miedo frente a muchas cosas a lo que Kant propone el implemento de deportes y juegos; sin embargo, no se debe tampoco adecuar muchos instrumentos para que el niño aprenda ya que el mismo debe aprender por si solo.

De este modo, siendo un ser íntegro, creyente, y conciente de sus acciones, el adolescente debería ya pensar por los demás sin esperar nada a cambio, tener "alegría en su corazón", no aceptar la desigualdad civil, y aspirar a un mundo mejor independientemente si ese "mundo mejor" es con el o sin él.

Ahora bien, en varios apartados se puede ver la idealización del cambio y el porqué resulta tan complejo manejarlo la principal razón que yo encuentro es la misma tradición, pues como el mismo afirma, muchos conocimientos son dados de generación en generación; por ende, es complicado erradicar un modo de educación tradicional que todavía se ve sin embargo, si fuéramos un poco mas por el lado constructivista y empezáramos a tomar en cuenta el contexto social y cultural de cada niño unido a su desarrollo emocional, moral y mental quizás podrían haber mejores resultados en educación, concepción, y mucha más paz.

[Hakan Guveli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Müthiş bir kitap. Günümüzde yazılan Egitim ve gelişim kitaplarının hikaye olduğunu anlıyorsun. Her anne baba ve eğitimde çalışanlar kesinlikle okumalı.

[Ellie Knudsvig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the obvious difference in time from when the book was written and when I read it, I found most all of the concepts, at their core, universal to any time period, which only goes to show the universality of good education. It took me a while to hop on board fully with a lot of the introductory chapters, but after looking at them with a more generalized perspective, I see the value of many of the ideas Kant wrote concerning the results of simple parenting choices in the first stages of a child’s development. The final few chapters resonated most closely with me, as many are concepts I hope to implement into my own teaching. Overall, it was very enlightening. I would recommend more educators familiarize themselves with moral texts and arguments, especially those in relation to education, such as this one.

[Iben Bollaert · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Het is erg belangrijk dat kinderen leren werken. De mens is het enige dier dat moet werken. Door vele voorbereidingen moet hij ertoe worden gebracht dat hij kan genieten van iets wat zijn onderhoud dient. De vraag of de hemel niet genadiger voor ons had gezorgd, wanneer wij alles kant-en-klaar hadden aangetroffen en dus niet hoefden te werken, is zeker met ‘nee’ te beantwoorden. De mens moet namelijk ondernemen, ook wanneer daar een zeker dwang mee gepaard gaat. Even onjuist is de veronderstelling dat wanneer Adam en Eva in het paradijs waren gebleven, zij daar niets zouden hebben gedaan dan bij elkaar zitten, archaïsche liederen zingen en de schoonheid van de natuur bewonderen. Ze zouden zich dood hebben verveeld, net als ieder ander mens in zo’n toestand.” (AAIX, 471)

[Giedrė · Rating 2 out of 5]

Viena trumpiausių skaitytų knygų, bet aš vos ją įveikiau. Pradžia buvo įdomi, gal didžiąją dalimi todėl, kad aš laukiau daug maisto pamąstymams. Bet net neįpusėjus viskas ritosi žemyn, mane ėmė erzinti kiekvienas sakinys. Apskritai visoje knygoje aptariamas abstraktus vaikas, žmogus, tačiau viduryje knygos dvejose vietose staiga autorius tą žmogų paverčia vyru (citata: "toks vaikas niekada netaps išmintingu ir šviesaus intelekto vyru" ir jau kitame puslapyje "tai esmingai vyriškam charakteriui") ir aš jau galvoju, kad rašant kiek plačiai buvo žiūrima į šiuos pamokymus, ar jie skirti tik vienai lyčiai?
Taigi maisto pagalvot gavau, bet tikrai ne iš gerosios pusės. Beveik nieko iš knygos nematau pritaikant šiuolaikiniam gyvenimui. Ir niekada negalvojau, kad galiu jausti tokį susinervinimą skaitydama literatūrą. O gal filosofiniai skaitiniai tiesiog ne man.

[Ethan Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Kant, education and progress in the techniques of education are the gateway to the progress of humanity. As an admirer of the philosopher, it was interesting for me to read his brief pamphlet on these techniques. What stood out to me was an emphasis on the training of the child's general cognitive faculties-memory, understanding, judgment, and others-in place of the more usual emphasis on knowing things. A focus on training faculties is probably sensible. Especially in world of increasing distraction, it makes sense to train, for example, the child's capacity for focus. I was also interested in the fact that, writing a book on education, Kant is forced to apply his ethics to relatively concrete and practical situations. At one point, he even offers a pragmatic justification for the total prohibition of lying. He maintains that if I child is told that lying is acceptable in some cases, it will inevitably proceed to lie when it is merely convenient.

[Brandon Stariha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. A classic in the philosophy of education and should be read by any with interest in education.

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 5 out of 5]

En lång beskrivning av moral som process, och hur den tränas in i andra.

[Maï · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5
Livre lu pour les cours. On y aborde des aspects intéressants de l'éducation, mais c'est beaucoup trop daté et des propos sont très choquant, surtout dans la deuxième moitié.
On y aborde le fait que l'éducation doit être un moyen d'émancipation pour accéder à la Raison. Que la dignité humaine est l'instance suprême.

[Furkan Altınışık · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kant had some progressive ideas about education for his period, which we understand from the fact that most of his recomendation are still valid. However some unacceptable ideas for our era like ''children should be prevented from reading novels because reading novels will cause them to remain captives of their imagination, the father should take care of the lying child to get rid of this bad habit because the mother does not see this task as an important matter, and keeping the boy in a very polite environment may cause him to lose his masculinity'' are also included in the book. Therefore, I think that it would be beneficial for those concerned about education topic to read and discuss it, but it would be harmful to see everything said as law.

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Kant içinde bulunduğu dönem için eğitim hakkında bazı progresif fikirlere sahip bunu da çoğu maddenin hala geçerliliğini koruyabilmesinden anlıyoruz. Fakat dönemimizle bağdaşmayacak çocukların roman okumasının hayal gücünün esiri olarak kalmalarına sebep olacağı dolayısıyla çocukların roman okumasının engellenmesi, yalan söyleyen çocuğun bu kötü huydan kurtulması görevinin babası tarafından verilmesi çünkü annelerin bu görevi önemli mesele olarak görmemesi, erkek çocuğun çok kibar bir ortamda kalmasının erkekliklerinden kayıp yaşatabileceği gibi kabul edilemez bazı fikirleri de kitapta yer alıyor. Dolayısıyla ilgilisinin okuyup üzerinde tartışmasının faydalı olacağını fakat her denilenin kanun gibi görülmesinin zararlı olacağını düşünmekteyim.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated this little book way more than I intended to. Kant has lots of wisdom and useful tidbits on education. It is a very classical approach, and I agree with the majority of it. However, there are a few things that I think are unbalanced or mere opinion. I found it well worth the read, and it helped me to solidify some of my own beliefs regarding education. It would be a wonderful book to read for discussion.

[rosiereadsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akıcı,öğretici ve geçerliliğini koruyan güncel düşünceleriyle insana çok şey katıyor Bay Kant'ın eğitim bilgeliği.

[Agnes Fontana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent ce traité de pédagogie, où l'ami Emmanuel décline en matière de de théorie de l'éducation les principes généraux de son système : l'homme est guidé par la raison et destiné à la liberté, il doit suivre le sens du devoir qui est en lui, recherche le bien universel, la société par ses contraintes l'élève et le perfectionne, etc. Le "dialogue" avec Rousseau, qui écrit l'Emile à la même époque, est passionnant ; Kant pense comme lui que la nature agit bien et qu'il faut la suivre, tout en s'écartant de Jean-Jacques sur d'autres points. Des développements passionnants sur la manière dont il faut contraindre l'enfant, précisément pour l'éduquer à la liberté ; et sur l'idée que le plus important est finalement de faire découvrir à l'enfant des principes qu'il devra appliquer toute sa vie à ses actions. L'oeuvre est moins ancrée dans son époque qu'on pourrait le craindre, c'est le signe du génie. Les propos sur la religion (le respect des rites religieux n'est pas une obligation religieuse en soi, il ne fait que fortifier le croyant dans sa résolution à devenir meilleur, c'est seulement en nous améliorant que nous plaisons à Dieu) sont très novateurs. On sourit en lisant que les personnes non ponctuelles ne sont pas dignes de confiance, quand on connaît la régularité maladive de notre auteur. En revanche, on ne s'attend pas à ses propos sur l'importance de la bonne humeur - notamment dans la religion. On regrette l'absence de tout propos sur l'éducation des filles, alors que chez Rousseau il y en a (Sophie) même si on n'adhère pas forcément à ce qui est dit - l'hypothèse que Kant ait écrit indifféremment pour les filles et les garçons doit malheureusement être écartée. Enfin, je n'exclus pas quelques erreurs de traduction, le fait d'encadrer les propositions relatives par des virgules, qui est obligatoire en allemand, ne l'est pas en français, et le sens de la phrase peut en être changé ("la religion, qui est fondée sur la seule théologie, ne saurait contenir quelque chose de moral...").

[Atli Steinarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Þessi bók er mun aðgengilegri en önnur verk Kants og því gaman að sjá hana koma út á íslensku. Að því sögðu er þetta bók um uppeldisfræði áður en uppeldisfræði varð í raun og veru fag eða hugmynd sem við pældum almennilega í. Kom þar að auki út fyrir uþb 300 árum síðan svo þetta er hugsanlega ekki rit sem maður getur gert ráð fyrir að styðjast mikið við í uppeldi barna árið 2025.

Að því sögðu finnst mér mikilvægt að benda á inngang bókarinnar, því hann gefur samhengi og útskýrir að jafnvel þó hún sé gömul geymi hún áhugaverð sjónarhorn á uppeldi barna frá manni sem gerbreytti hugsunarhætti nútíma samfélags. Mér finnst þó frekar hjálplegt, en ekki nauðsynlegt, að hafa að minnsta kosti kynnt sér siðfræði Kants því það gefur manni meiri bakgrunn varðandi hluti sem hann nefnir í bókinni sem tengast siðferði og innrætinu á því hjá börnum.

Skilyrðislausa skylduboðið er flókin pæling en ef maður veit ekki einu sinni af henni gæti ég trúað að sumt fari fyrir ofan garð og neðan varðandi það sem hann segir í þessari bók.

Hún er barn síns tíma auðvitað að mörgu leyti, en það er ekkert öðruvísi farið með þessa bók og aðrar eldri heimspekibækur að ef þú getur ekki áttað þig á tímanum sem þær eru skrifaðar í og gefið afslátt af kreddum sem koma þar fram, mun lesningin reynast erfið og lærdómur líklegast lítill. En ég hafði gaman af henni, hún lætur mann hugsa um hlutina sem er engin nýlunda þegar kemur að þessum manni. Ætli hér sé ekki komin bók sem ég myndi kannski benda fólki sem hefur áhuga á Kant að byrja á, jafnvel þó það þekki ekki önnur verk eftir hann gæti það orðið forvitið um þau og vanist hvernig hann setur hlutina fram. Til að forðast að vera kominn í mótsögn við sjálfan mig og það sem ég sagði í byrjun væri þá hægt að fara aftur í þessa bók þegar búið væri að athuga hinar og þannig gæti hingrás Kants verið endalaus. Maður gæti sleppt því að lesa aðrar bækur og einungis lesið Kant þangað til að loksins á endanum myndi maður skilja nákvæmlega hvað maðurinn var að reyna að kenna manni.

[Sergio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como educar al niño para cuando sea ciudadano?
Consejos especificos de crianza, partiendo de dos vertientes del cknocimiento: el moral y el practico. Para que el niño se construya a nivel del espiritu y logre desarrollar su personalidad (virtudes y moralidad) para poco a poco incluir la religion y las leyes de su entorno. A nivel practico se quiere que el niño pueda comprender el valor del trabajo, de la disciplina y como el placer aunque en ocasiones bueno, puede llegar a corromper la vision de las virtudes y el buen caracter. (Apice, es bueno compararlo con el emilio y en colombia el manual de urbanidad de carreño (sin concenas - la udea es aprender de todo un poco)).
A nivel personal me arecio apropiado, pues la educacion actual tiene varios de los problemas señalados por Kant y aveces olvidamos que la etapa fundamental en una persona es su niñes y no hacemos nada para desarrollarla de buena manera. "Educa al niño y no tendras que reprender al adulto" -Platón.

[azul lázuli]

El último párrafo del libro es:
"Necesidad, finalmente, de que cada día se haga un balance consigo mismo; para que al fin de la vida se pueda hacer un cálculo respecto al valor de la propia vida."

No sé, es una visión de la vida y el humano como una máquina (un ser calculador). Me parece muy criticable esta forma de ver al humano, pero lo que más me impacta de esta reflexión es que yo me veo a mi misma como una máquina. Y no es por convicción, simplemente es una cárcel de la que no puedo salir. No me manejo por deseo, sino por cálculo y lo detesto. Creo que odio a Kant no por estar en desacuerdo con él (que lo estoy) sino porque soy más parecida a él de lo que me gustaría (con respecto a este párrafo y este libro, no necesariamente a todo su pensamiento)

[Combimagnetron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lot's of things here are wrong, obviously. But in light of today's state of education theres still plenty of stuff to take away from Kant.
The most important thing that comes to mind is the pretense of science based education that is free of ideology. We should however, be thinking about ideology in education: What kind of society do we want, what does this mean for the type of people we need, and what does this mean for education?
What do we want to cultivate in children for them to have the best chance to properly and equally live together?
This is something I think is missing in education today.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I disliked this book at first, especially seems Kant seems to underrate the imagination, and many of his pedagogical prescriptions are vague and sometimes even seemingly contradictory (within a couple pages he asserts that the study of language should "begin with hearing" and then that they should "begin with grammar"). But as I reflected on it I found a lot of what this book had to say sticking with me. It is almost Kant's version of the Nicomachean Ethics, where he reflects on what makes us human and how we develop into moral beings (or fail to do so).

[finbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don’t know my kant very well, so it was more challenging than rewarding to understand how he integrates his three critiques into this work of moral pedagogy. i read the first edition in early 18th century german, which i love because it generally seems more sassy and playful than the contemporary language. however, it’s really important to note that it was published postmortem by a colleague of his, who decided to make it incredibly unclear which parts of the book are who’s intellectual property. claiming this is a kantian creation, as this translator seems to do, is very misleading 🤓

[Šarūnė · Rating 3 out of 5]

🎵 📖
Perklausiau labai skaniai važiuodama į mokyklą rytais! Pasakoja apie sutramdytą laisvę, kad vaikams būtina parodyti, kur yra ribos, kitaip jie niekada jų nejaus. Paaiškinti, kodėl veiksmai yra gėdingi ar neteisingi, o ne tikėtis, kai vaikai iš frazės “kaip tau negėda!” viską ir supras. Labai daug tiesos šiai dienai, kuri buvo aprašyta jau seniai.

[Özge Günaydın · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kant ın 1800 yılında düşündüğü ve yazdığı her şey bugün de güncelliğini koruyor ve ahlaki yozlaşmanın önüne geçmek için ışık tutuyor. Çocuk büyütenler mutlaka okumalı. Öğretmenler mutlaka okumalı . Hatta toplumsal ders kitabı olarak zorunlu tutulmalı

[Deimantė Reivytienė · Rating 2 out of 5]

Primena sovietinius vadovėlius namų šeimininkei. Šiais laikais į vaikų ugdymą žiūrima visai kitaip, daugelis principų, kurie aiškinami šioje knygoje jau prieš daug metų paneigti. Buvo įdomu perskaityti kaip seniau buvo žiūrima į vaikų ugdymą.

[Hernán M. Sanabria · Rating 5 out of 5]

"La educación es un arte cuya aplicación debe ser perfeccionada por muchas generaciones".

[Mahir Şanlı · Rating 2 out of 5]

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