IMMANUEL KANT’S HARMONIZATION OF EMPIRICISM AND RATIONALISM IN HIS SYNTHETIC A PRIORI AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

Abstract

Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of synthetic a priori is a major component of the enlightenment legacy that has and continues to influence contemporary philosophical thought. Its application in the knowledge building process of Nigerian universities is the crux of this study. In spite of the large number of university graduates produced annually, university education is yet to create the expected impact on Nigerians. The perennial technological underdevelopment, reliance on importation for quality products and services, corruption, imitation or production of fake products, inability to solve Nigerian challenges like unemployment, insurgency, unavailability of basic amenities like good water supply and electricity unequivocally demonstrates that the goals of university education categorically stated in Nigerian Policy on Education have not been realized. This paper examines the notion of Kant’s synthetic a priori and its implications for contemporary university education in Nigeria. The methodology employed in this study includes exposition, analysis, speculation, application, criticism and phenomenology. Immanuel Kant’s harmonization of empiricism and rationalism in his synthetic a priori postulates that neither empirical nor rational knowledge alone can lead to a holistic understanding of reality; rather both types of knowledge are necessary for a complete knowledge of reality. This is because Kant’s synthetic a priori bridges the gap between innate knowledge and experience-based knowledge. The paper recommends among other things that Nigerian educators should pursue a balanced view of knowledge that is based on both rational and empirical evidence, which can help them better prepare their students to be successful in the globalized world.