makiguchi and inmanuel kant

Japanese educator Tsunesaburo Makiguchi was significantly influenced by Immanuel Kant, particularly Kant's focus on ethics, happiness, and the human condition, integrating these ideas into his "value-creating pedagogy" which centered education on fostering human flourishing and societal well-being, contrasting with militaristic education of his time

. While Kant established principles of moral value (Beauty, Goodness, Truth), Makiguchi adapted these, arguing "Value" arose from human creative activity, a key distinction in his philosophy of "Soka" (value creation) education. 

Key Connections

• Ethical Foundation: Kant's emphasis on morality, virtue, and the pursuit of happiness resonated with Makiguchi, forming a philosophical bedrock for his educational reforms.
• Value System: Kant, and later Neo-Kantianism, identified core values like Beauty, Goodness, and Truth. Makiguchi built on this, but differentiated objective "Truth" from subjective "Value," which he saw as created through human action, linking goodness and beauty to human potential.
• Purpose of Education: Both thinkers sought to elevate the human condition, with Kant influencing the focus on individual potential and Makiguchi applying this to create a system where education's aim was to generate lasting value for individuals and society.
• Contextual Application: Makiguchi's philosophy emerged in opposition to Japan's militaristic education, using Kantian and other influences to advocate for a humanistic, value-focused approach to teaching. 

Makiguchi's Adaptation

• Makiguchi developed his "Soka" (value-creating) education based on Kantian ethics, but critiqued the Western triad of values by asserting that while beauty and goodness are created by humans, "truth" is an objective reality, not a human-made value.
• He aimed to shift education from mere political indoctrination to fostering genuine human happiness and fulfillment, deeply rooted in the ethical framework Kant provided.