Interest in Kant’s views on education has been strong since the very beginning and Robert Louden’s English translations of the textbooks used by Kant in his pedagogy lectures provide an invaluable context for understanding Kant’s approach to education as well as a remarkable window into the world of 18th century Germany and its view of children.
- Steve Naragon, Professor of Philosophy, Manchester University, UK,
Johann Bernhard Basedow’s Method Book for Fathers and Mothers of Families and Nations (1773) and Friedrich Samuel Bock’s Textbook of the Art of Education for the Use of Christian Parents and Future Teachers of Youth (1780) were key texts used by Kant in his lectures on education during the 1770s and 1780s.
Now translated into English for the first time, Robert Loudon explores how both works not only served as the basis for Kant’s Lectures on Pedagogy (1803) and related Reflexionen, but also had a broad influence on the practical, anthropological and religious dimensions of his philosophy. Featuring an introduction and accompanying notes on both texts, this translation places Kant’s philosophy of education into context, comparing his thinking with the ideas laid out by Basedow and Bock. Loudon also investigates the requirement and Kant’s decision to switch to using Bock’s Textbook of the Art of Education in 1780.
This is a valuable resource for any student or scholar interested in Kant’s thoughts on education, pedagogy and philosophical anthropology, as well as the period of educational reform during the Enlightenment.
List of Figures
Note on Translations
Acknowledgements
Series Editors’ Preface
Introduction
English translation of the 3rd. ed. of Basedow’s Method Book for Fathers and Mothers
English translation of Bock’s Textbook of the Art of Education
Notes
Index
Kant’s Sources in Translation uncovers the texts that shaped Kant's thought and retrieves the rich intellectual world that influenced Kant’s philosophical development. Many of these sources are in Latin or in German, and remain inaccessible to Anglophone readers.
The series makes available the most important textbooks Kant used throughout his long teaching career. Lacking this material, it is often difficult to appreciate Kant’s originality and process of philosophical maturation, we are unable to understand what prompted Kant to introduce a distinction, offer a qualification, attack a position, or develop a new thesis. With this essential background we better understand the genesis of Kant’s thought.
Series Editors: Lawrence Pasternack, Professor of Philosophy, Oklahoma State University, USA; Pablo Muchnik, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Emerson College, USA