Few philosophers have shaped modern thinking as deeply as Immanuel Kant. More than two centuries after his death, his ideas on ethics, duty and human behaviour continue to influence debates about education, parenting and morality.
One of Kant's most thought-provoking observations focuses on how children learn right from wrong and whether rewards and punishments are the best way to teach morality.
The quote of the day reads: “If you punish a child for being naughty, and reward him for being good, he will do right merely for the sake of the reward; and when he goes out into the world and finds that goodness is not always rewarded, nor wickedness always punished, he will grow into a man who only thinks about how he may get on in the world, and does right or wrong according as he finds advantage to himself.”
Although written centuries ago, the quote continues to spark discussions about motivation, character and the foundations of ethical behaviour.
