On the Applicability of the “European Qualification Framework” to I. Kant’s ‘Kingdom of Ends’: Mental Experiment

Abstract

Kant supposed the “Kingdom of Ends” as idea of universal moral unity, however, he is concerned with the question of how this system could be arranged and what relationship could exist among moral beings that would do only what is supposed to be done by them. Since human beings manifest the inner world through their activity by expressing themselves through generally significant goals; how do they interact in the ideal system? In this case, what levels or qualification stages can be assumed for the beings from the “Kingdom of Ends”? It takes into consideration the European Union, as an example of the application of qualifications’ levels. Using the structure of the European Qualifications Framework as a tool and an example, the author makes an attempt (so called “mental experiment”) to compare its main elements with Kant’s vision of a moral human being, which could exist in the “Kingdom of Ends”. Such mental experiment allows finding out the correlation between the real personal requirements and absolute Kant’s ethics, where a subject is the highest value and goal. Author makes the following conclusion: the degree of morality of a human being or his actions towards it partly depend on his level of qualification and its basis is education.