Thoughts on Education, also known as the
Thoughts on Education (Original title: Some Thoughts Concerning Education), is
a treaty written in 1693 by the British philosopher John Locke education. For
more than a century, it is the philosophical work on the most important of
England education, and has been translated into most European languages
during the eighteenth century. Most of the contemporary European writers,
including Jean- Jacques Rousseau, who wrote on the subject, have also
acknowledged his influence.
In his Essay Concerning Human Understanding
in 1690, Locke had already described a new philosophy of mind, and said that
the child's mind was a tabula rasa or "blank page», that is to say it
contained no innate idea. Thoughts on Education explain how to educate the mind,
using three different methods: the development of a healthy body, the formation
of a virtuous character, and the choice of an approprié1 curriculum.
The letters that make up the treaty as it
is known today were originally intended for one of his aristocratic friends,
entitled Some Thoughts (Thoughts). Before the advice of this friend, he was
released out of this private sphere, allowing women and even less access to
educational aspirations than those which it was originally intended classes.
Background
It seems that John Locke, rather than
writing a complete philosophy of education, deliberately trying to popularize
the trends of educational reform of the seventeenth century while introducing
his own ideas. Before him , writers such as John Evelyn , John Aubrey, John Euchar
and John Milton defended " similar reforms of the curriculum and teaching
methods" , but failed to reach a fairly LARGE 2 public. However, it is
surprising to note that John Locke says several times in the text that this is
a revolutionary work by Nathan Taco , who wrote a book on the Thoughts on
Education , " Locke often explicitly opposed its recommendations to
education "usual" , "common" , " common " or
"general" " 3 .
While commercialism and secularism spread
in Britain, humanistic educational ideas of the Renaissance, which form the
basis of scholastic, are considered by many as being more adaptées4. Following
the ideas of Francis Bacon, which challenges the traditional cultural authority
, reformers such as John Locke, and later Philip Doddridge , oppose the decree
of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge that "all the Bachelors and
Students , in their deliberations , will forfeit these various authors, which
have caused so much tension and disputes in the schools , and only follow
Aristotle and those who defend it , and to base their questions on it, and
exclude schools all these barren and useless questions disagree with the old
and true philosophy " 5. Many families want their son , instead of
studying only the texts in Latin and ancient Greek, receive practical education
by exposing them to new science and modern languages , parents hope that
their son will be ready adapt to economic changes , and therefore the new world
that forms in Britain .
Text
One of these families is the Clarke family
living in Chipley in Somerset. In 1864, Edward Clarke asks his friend John
Locke tips to educate his son and heir; Edward Jr. John Locke wrote him a
series of letters that form the basis of Thoughts on education.6. But it was
not until 1693 that encouraged by Clarke and par William Moline, he published
his treatise. «Shy «when it comes to exposure to the public, Locke decides to
publish the book anonymement7.
John Locke revises and extends the text
five times before death.8, but without altering the «friendly and familiar
style of the book «9. The preface of the book warns the reader of his humble
origins in a series of letters, and, according to Nathan Taco, John Locke
encourages boards. Nathan Taco says John Locke treats its readers as friends
and meet him même9.
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