J. B. Basedow and F.S. Bock on Pedagogy : Translations of Two 18th-Century Textbooks

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.