소크라테스와 칸트 ‘반성’ 개념의 교육적 함의

Abstract

This study is to explore the meaning of education in view of the concept of Socrates's and Kant's 'reflection'. In Plato's dialogue Apology, Socrates says 'Unexamined life is not worth living'. In this passage, the term 'examination' could be understood as a 'reflection'. In Socratic inference, the relationship between the particular judgment and the ultimate principle is regarded as a logical implication, because it reveals the clarity of the given concept by means of the logical relationship between concepts. Further, according to Nelson, when we trace back to the ultimate principle by Socratic method, we eliminate the accidental facts of the particular judgment, and by this elimination trace back to its ultimate principle that lies at the bottom of the particular judgment. In this sense, Socratic inference could be regarded as an 'regressive method of abstraction'. Kant's reflective judgment is to be distinguished from determinant judgment. Determinant judgment is a mere faculty of subsuming particulars under given universal concepts, whereas reflective judgment is interested in the relation of particular judgments and concepts. As it were, the faculty of reflective judgment is to find out the universal principle of systematic unity for particular judgments. This is, on the one hand, to trace back from particular judgments to principle and, on the other hand, to justify the particular judgments in respect of an ultimate principle. Therefore, in Kant's conception of reflective judgment, the relation of particular judgments and ultimate principle is not a relation of logical implication but of logical presupposition. In other words, the ultimate principle is a priori to the particular judgments. Instead of the difference between Kant and Socrates, their conception of reflection commonly shows us that human mind must pursue the knowledge both in the level of understanding and in the level of reason. Reflective judgment makes us grow from the level of understanding to reason. The main task of education is to weaken the influences that obstruct the growth of understanding and to reinforce those that promote it.