Abstract:

Most of the existing studies on school discipline are related to laws and regulations. There are few in-depth investigations of the legitimacy of school discipline from philosophical perspectives. The modern political-philosophical arguments about “reasonable”, “treating someone as an end”, “mutual independence and autonomy” and “good life”, not only contribute to illuminating the source of the legitimacy of school discipline in theory, but also have potential significance for the legitimate practice of school discipline. There are theoretical and practical problems with the principle of “general acceptability” in political liberalism and the principle of “mutual independence and autonomy” in Kantian political philosophy, in terms of justifying the legitimacy of school discipline. These problems can be overcome by a reciprocal logic derived from perfectionism, on the premise of distinguishing two types of perfectionist understanding of “good life”, rebutting the criticism from political liberals and Kantians concerning the “reasonable disagreement” and paternalism, and highlighting the importance of respecting the potential of students to consciously realize their “good lives”.

Key words: school discipline, legitimacy, good life