Higher Education Without Commodification, Mechanization or Moralization

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Independent Philosopher, Canada

Abstract

What is the ultimate end of higher education? Giambattista Vico, echoing Socrates’s Delphic oracle, claimed that the ultimate end of all education is self-knowledge. I fully agree with Vico’s claim, but also radically extend his idea about education, in accordance with contemporary and futuristic Kantianism, and then apply it specifically to contemporary and near-future higher education. In 1784, Kant published an essay called “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” in which he argued that the fundamental thesis of “enlightenment” or Aufklärung is that all rational human animals are strictly obligated to think for themselves and to act freely, with resolution and courage, in accordance with sufficient respect for their own and everyone else’s human dignity. Taking together Vico’s Socratic idea about self-knowledge, with Kant’s idea about enlightenment, and then creatively revising-&-updating them both to fit the contemporary 21st century existential, moral, and sociopolitical predicament of humankind, then in my view, the ultimate end of higher education is not only (i) self-knowledge, but also (ii) rational autonomy in thinking, caring, and acting, (iii) authentic human creativity, and (iv) sufficient respect for everyone’s human dignity. In turn, the four-part conjunction of these ultimate ends is what I call radical enlightenment. Therefore, I’m saying that the ultimate end of higher education is radical enlightenment.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Deresiewicz, W. (2015a). Excellent sheep. New York, NY: Free Press.
Deresiewicz, W. (2015b, September). The neoliberal arts: How college sold its soul to the market. Harper’s. http://harpers.org/archive/2015/09/the-neoliberal-arts/
Fromm, E. (1961). Marx’s concept of man. New York, NY: Frederick Ungar.
Gare, A. (2023). Challenging the dominant grand narrative in global education and culture. In R. Rozzi, A. Tauro, N. Avriel-Avni, T. Wright, & R. H. May Jr. (Eds.), Field environmental philosophy: Ecology and ethics (Vol. 5). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. https://www.academia.edu/103883982
Geuss, R. (1981). The idea of a critical theory: Habermas and the Frankfurt School. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hanna, R. (2016). Radical enlightenment: Existential Kantian cosmopolitan anarchism, with a concluding quasi-federalist postscript. In D. Heidemann & K. Stoppenbrink (Eds.), Join, or die: Philosophical foundations of federalism (pp. 63–90). Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. https://www.academia.edu/6994230
Hanna, R. (2018). Kant, agnosticism, and anarchism: A theological-political treatise (The Rational Human Condition, Vol. 4). New York, NY: Nova Science. https://www.academia.edu/36359665
Hanna, R. (2023a). In defence of dignity. Borderless Philosophy, 6, 77–98. https://www.cckp.space/single-post/bp6-2023-robert-hanna-in-defence-of-dignity-77-98
Hanna, R. (2023b). Dignitarian post-capitalism. Borderless Philosophy, 6, 99–129. https://www.cckp.space/single-post/bp6-2023-robert-hanna-dignitarian-post-capitalism-99-129
Hanna, R. (2023c). Invasion of the mind snatchers, or, the easy solution to the problem of chatbots in higher education (Unpublished manuscript). https://www.academia.edu/102995569
Hanna, R. (2023d). Further thoughts on the myth of artificial intelligence, the mind snatching invasion of the chatbots, and how to save higher education (Unpublished manuscript). https://www.academia.edu/103442312
Hanna, R. (2024a). Kantian futurism. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 18(47), 1–8. https://philosophy.tabrizu.ac.ir/article_18254.html
Hanna, R. (2024b). The myth of AI, existential threat, why the myth persists, and what is to be done about it. Borderless Philosophy, 7, 35–61. https://www.cckp.space/single-post/bp-7-2024-robert-hanna-the-myth-of-ai
Hanna, R. (2024c). Caveat lector: From Wittgenstein to the philosophy of reading. Journal for the Philosophy of Language, Mind and the Arts, 5, 1–26. https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it
Hanna, R. (2025). Digital technology for humans: The myth of AI, human dignity, and neo-Luddism. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter Brill. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111260525
Hartmann, M., & Honneth, A. (2006). Paradoxes of capitalism. Constellations, 13, 41–58.
Honneth, A. (2009). Pathologies of Reason: On the legacy of critical theory (J. Ingram, Trans.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Horkheimer, M. (1947). Eclipse of Reason. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Horkheimer, M., & Adorno, T. W. (2002). Dialectic of enlightenment (E. Jephcott, Trans.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Jacobs, J. (2004). Dark Age Ahead. New York, NY: Vintage.
Kant, I. (1996). An answer to the question: What is enlightenment? (M. Gregor, Trans.). In Immanuel Kant: Practical Philosophy (pp. 17–22). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1784)
Kant, I. (1996). Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason (A. Wood & G. Di Giovanni, Trans.). In Immanuel Kant: Religion and rational theology (pp. 57–215). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1793)
MacArthur, J. R. (2024, January 17). A groundbreaking study shows kids learn better on paper, not screens. Now what? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com
Maiese, M. (2023, September 24). A philosopher’s diary #14: ChatGPT, high-tech plagiarism, and the neoliberal university. Against Professional Philosophy. https://againstprofphil.org
Maiese, M., & Hanna, R. (2019). The Mind-Body Politic. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. https://www.academia.edu/38764188
Mann, D. (2019, March 4). The new inquisitors. Against Professional Philosophy. https://againstprofphil.org
Marcuse, H. (1964). One-Dimensional Man. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Marx, K. (1961). Economic and philosophical manuscripts (T. B. Bottomore, Trans.). In E. Fromm (Ed.), Marx’s concept of man (pp. 90–196). New York, NY: Frederick Ungar.
Marx, K. (1964). Karl Marx: Selected Writings in Sociology and Social Philosophy (T. B. Bottomore, Trans.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Rorty, R. (1994, February 13). The unpatriotic academy. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com
Schmidt, J. (2000). Disciplined minds: A critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Tough, P. (2023, September 5). Americans are losing faith in the value of college. Whose fault is that? New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com
University of Toronto Magazine. (2025). https://magazine.utoronto.ca/
Vico, G. (1990). On the study methods of our times. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. (Original work published 1709)
Vico, G. (1993). On humanistic education (G. A. Pinton & A. W. Shippee, Trans.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. (Original works published 1699–1707)
Wolff, R. P. (1969). The ideal of the university. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Wong, A. (2016). March 30). The commodification of higher education. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com
Yale Alumni Magazine. (2025). https://yalealumnimagazine.org/
Send comment about this article
CAPTCHA Image
Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 19, Issue 53 - Serial Number 53
Articles
Issue 53, Winter 2026
December 2025
Pages 253-266

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics