Abstract:

As an epoch-making philosopher and educationalist, Kant’s exploration and construction of rationality and rational education system have important enlightening significance to later generations. Different from many enlightenment philosophers, Kant not only attaches importance to individual rationality and individual freedom, but also to the public rationality in the public domain, emphasizing the public use of rationality and the dialectical unity of individual rationality and public rationality, individual freedom and public welfare. According to Kant’s educational thought, every individual’s rational will must be subject to the universal moral law, because human beings are not simply individual and subjective existence, but also contains the dimensions of publicity and intersubjectivity. Based on this, the use of rationality cannot be solipsistic monologue, but must use public reason to think about the relationship between self, others, and society. On the basis of individual and public survival, Kant constructs a unified educational system of individual rationality and public rationality, and advances the coupling of individual citizens and cosmopolitan citizens. He pioneeringly proposes the idea of world citizenship education, elevating public rational education to the height of global citizenship education.

Key words: rational education, individual rationality, public rationality, world citizenship