A Comparative Study of Educational Views of Rousseau, Kant, and Farabi

There has always been some disagreement among experts and ordinary people regarding their understanding of the nature of education. However, both groups admit that it is a necessary and vital element in human life. There are also various definitions for education and various views regarding its nature. Therefore, the clarification of the related controversies can assist us to identify the adopted approaches, remove the potential ambiguities, and avoid confusing them with each other. The present study, while emphasizing the necessity of explaining the existing differences, refers to the educational views of Farabi, Kant, and Rousseau, who played influential roles in developing educational theories and ideas. According to these three thinkers, all human beings have a common good and healthy primordial nature. Generally speaking, they believe that the ultimate goal of education, whether in its individual or social dimension, is to train a human being who enjoys physical and mental health and ethical virtues and has passed through different educational levels in order to attain intellectual perfection. A comparison of the educational views of these three prominent thinkers regarding educational principles and methods indicates that intellection and thinking are extremely important to all of them, and they consider them to be among the most crucial tools of increasing the power of perception and recognition in human beings. The present paper explores Man’s nature and the goals, principles, and various stages of education in Kant, Rousseau, and Farabi.