Johann Bernhard Basedow
| Johann Bernhard Basedow | |
|---|---|
Johann Bernhard Basedow
|
|
| Born |
September 11, 1724 Hamburg |
| Died |
July 25, 1790 (aged 65) Magdeburg |
| Occupation | German philosopher |
Johann Bernhard Basedow (September 11, 1724, – July 25, 1790) was a German educational reformer, teacher and writer. He founded the Philanthropinum, a short-lived but influential progressive school in Dessau, and was the author of "Elementarwerk", a popular illustrated textbook for children.
Basedow was born in Hamburg, the son of a wigmaker. His father has been described as "severe almost to brutality", his mother as "melancholy almost to madness", which made his childhood a less than happy one. It was planned that he should follow his father's profession, but, at the age of 14, he ran away from home, finding employment as a servant of a country physician in Holstein. His employer recognized Johann's extraordinary intellectual gifts and sent him home to his parents with a letter which persuaded them to allow their son to be schooled at the Johanneum in Hamburg. Here, Johann came under the influence of the rationalist H.S. Reimarus (1694–1768), author of the famous Wolfenbütteler Fragmente, published by Lessing .
In 1744, Basedow went to the University of Leipzig as a student of theology, but turned instead to the study of philosophy, being particularly influenced by Wolff's "Philosophy of Reason". This made him examine his own Christian faith, arriving at a position that was "in a centre between Christianism and naturalism". He rejected his clerical vocation and turned instead to radicalism and reformism.
Between 1749 and 1753, Basedow was a private tutor to the son of Herr Von Quaalen, a nobleman living in Borghorst, Holstein. He developed new teaching methods based on conversation and play with the child, and a program of physical development. Such was his success that he wrote a treatise on his methods, "On the best and hitherto unknown method of teaching children of noblemen", which he presented to the University of Kiel in 1752, and obtained the degree of Master of Arts.
...
Wikipedia