Traditional moral education is often based on an asymmetrical teacher-student relationship, wherein students are expected to develop virtue through imitation or by receiving moral instruction from authoritative figures. This study investigates how moral education can be restructured on an egalitarian foundation and explores the pedagogical implications of such a transformation. Drawing on Jacques Rancière’s concept of intellectual equality and Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy, this study employs philosophical analysis and interpretation to examine how Kant’s moral thought facilitates the application of Rancière’s intellectual equality to moral education. First, this study elucidates Rancière’s notion of intellectual equality and its implications for moral pedagogy. To address the challenge of translating intellectual equality into moral education, it then engages with Kantian moral philosophy, arguing that Kant’s emphasis on the universality of practical reason provides essential theoretical resources for adapting Rancière’s egalitarian perspective to moral education. However, the study also critically examines the hierarchical assumptions embedded in Kant’s pedagogical model, arguing that a more radical shift toward an egalitarian framework is necessary to foster autonomous moral reasoning. Finally, this paper explores the concept of “universal teaching” within moral education, demonstrating how an egalitarian presupposition enables students to exercise their practical reason independently. By reconsidering the foundational premises of moral education, this study proposes an egalitarian pedagogical framework that moves beyond authority-dependent instruction, offering theoretical and pedagogical insights to introduce an egalitarian presupposition into moral education, fostering a more emancipatory practice in educational settings.

Authors:
Chan-Yu Kuo, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Chan-Yu Kuo is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow of Graduate Institute of Educational Policy and Administration, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan.

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