Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy by Biesta Gert J. J
Author:Biesta, Gert J. J. [Gert J. J. Biesta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317258650
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
The Opening and Closure of Modern Education
The idea of subjectivity as a proper educational concern or interest and as something that is different from socialization has a particular, modern history, a history that can be traced back to the Enlightenment. A key figure in this history is Immanuel Kant. This is not so much because Kant invented a particular, modern notion of subjectivity—although it can be argued that he did that as well—but first and foremost because, retrospectively, Kant's work has become an important reference point for the development of modern education. Notions such as autonomy, rationality and criticality—all hallmarks of an education that aims to "invest" in human subjectivity—can easily be traced back to Kant's writings on enlightenment and education.
Kant defined enlightenment as the release of the human being "from his [sic] self-incurred tutelage" and defined tutelage as the inability of the human being "to make use of his [sic] understanding without the direction from another" (Kant 1992 [1784], 90). Philosophically the most significant aspect of Kant's notion of "rational autonomy"—autonomy based upon reason—was that he did not conceive of this as a contingent historical possibility but saw it instead as something that was an inherent telos of human nature. This is why he argued that to block progress in enlightenment would be "a crime against human nature" (Kant 1992 [1784], 93). Educationally, the most important aspect of Kant's thought is to be found in his claim that the "propensity to free thinking" could only be brought about through education (see Kant 1982, 710). Kant not only wrote that the human being "is the only creature that has to be educated" (697). He also argued that the human being can only become human—that is, a being who makes use of his understanding without the direction from another (which we may refer to as a rational autonomous being)—"through education" (699).
With Kant the rationale for education thus became founded upon the idea "of a certain kind of subject who has the inherent potential to become self-motivated and self-directing," while the task of education became one of bringing about or releasing this potential "so that subjects become fully autonomous and capable of exercising their individual and intentional agency" (Usher and Edwards 1994, 24–25). What is most significant about Kant's intervention—and this is why we might say that his work marks the inauguration of modern education—is that he established a link between education and human freedom. Kant made the question of human freedom the central issue for modern education by making a distinction between heteronomous determination and self-determination and by arguing that education ultimately had to do with the latter, not the former. In a sense, therefore, it was only after Kant that it became possible to distinguish between socialization and subjectification.
Whereas in this way Kant's arguments opened up a whole new realm for educational thought and practice—and the idea that education is not simply about inculcation or training but entails an orientation toward freedom, independence and autonomy has remained a central tenet of modern education—this opening was closed off almost before it could start.
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