The Right to Education: An Analysis through the Lens of the Deontological Method of Immanuel Kant

Authors

Kavana Ramaswamy

Abstract

The framework of categorical imperatives is one of the most famous deontological theories of rights that have been formulated. The framework has often been used to justify human rights policies all over the world. While they have been subject to several criticisms over the last two centuries, some of these include improvements to the original framework. This paper analyses the framework of the categorical imperatives and suggest certain modifications to improve internal coherence.

The paper then seeks to apply this framework to the right to education, a right that is under fire in the conservatively-charged political arena today. This is done to attempt to find a deontological, rather than consequentialist, justification for certain modifications to the education policies often pursued by the conservative right. This paper provides a more robust theoretical justification for certain forms of education policy to be pursued by governments.

Recommended Citation

Kavana Ramaswamy, The Right to Education: An Analysis through the Lens of the Deontological Method of Immanuel Kant, 16 Nw. J. Hum. Rts. 47 (2018).
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njihr/vol16/iss1/3