著者

相馬 伸一

出版者

広島修道大学

雑誌

広島修大論集. 人文編 (ISSN:03875873)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.41, no.2, pp.177-244, 2001-02-28

---

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the educational implication of Descartes' philosophy. Due to the fact that Descartes criticized the humanistic education of the Jesuit college where he was educated, the educational aspect of his philosophy has not been enough considered. However, as far as the aim of his philosophy is to rightly guide the mind, it is directly connected with education. In order to understand Descartes' view of education, the interrelation between his texts and his practice has to be considered since he did not leave any specific writings concerning education. Indeed, various episodes within his lifetime such as his relationship with Isaac Beeckman and Bohemian Princess Elizabeth show his view of education. Whilst he took a pessimistic view of the external action of education such as instruction, he emphasized the innermotivated aspect of education such as self-instruction or learning. In his writings and letters, Descartes always stated that the purpose of his philosophical reflection was self-instruction (m'instruire moi-meme). It is not relevant that his self-instruction is often attributed to a sort of conformism. He thought that the learning aspect is much superior to the teaching aspect in education. In the history of education, seventeenth century Europe is regarded as the century of didactics. In this sense, Descartes' view of education is contrary to the historical trend of the age. However, the educational implication of his philosophy should not be overlooked. Through defining man as a subject who understands the world, he secularized the learning theory tradition since the medieval times.