Los limites estamentales de la educación en el pensamiento ilustrado

Abstract

Philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment had, at the time, a decisive influence on the introduction of the system of individual rights and freedoms. The right to education was of special interest to the «enlightened». During the 18th century, however, the dominating social attitude, shared even by most reformers, adhered to the scheme of hierarchical «ordering». As a consequence, although the concept of the right to education for all prevailed, it did so to the extent that education should respond to the professional function of each individual, respecting the hierarchical structure of society: the higher the level in social scale, the greater the education, with a gradual decrease in proportion to that of social level. The «enlightened » questioned the desirability of a certain degree of education, though very limited, for the masses. This approach to the right to education was common throughout Europe during the Age of Enlightenment.