The Exploration of Moral Autonomy as an Aim of Education (With Emphasis on the Views of Kant and Peters)

Moral autonomy means "self-government" and "self-rule". This paper presents the analysis and reasoning in search of answers to the following questions: first, what conditions does moral autonomy require? Second, does moral autonomy possess the requirements necessary for being considered as an aim of education? The theoretical framework of this study is based on Kant’s and Peters’ views that have served the theoretical sources and bases of the survey questions. The first question has been answered by referring to Kant’s ideas, whereas the answer to the second question has been derived from Peters’ sources. Kant believes that reason and free will are the fundamental bases for moral autonomy. On the other hand, Peters argues that the concept of "education" and the "educated person" provide the criteria and necessary conditions for moral autonomy. Hence, it was concluded that by recourse to conceptual analysis, and here, the analysis of the concepts of "education" and "educated person", we are able to demonstrate that moral autonomy should be one of the main aims of education because moral education implies the concepts of both education and educated person. The paradoxes between the concept of "autonomy” and “educational authority”, between "reason and habits" and "authenticity of choice and educational content" are also discussed.