Juan Luis Vives and Jan Amos Comenius: Inspiration in Pedagogy, Affinity in Peace Efforts

• Authors: Beneš Jiří
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The Spanish humanist J. L. Vives (1492–1540) is the author of more than fifty writings of philosophical, historical, juridical, educational and theological orientation. Comenius (1592–1670) a century later demonstrated consciously and in a creative way a connection with many concepts in Vives’ work. We find the following points of contact concerning the reform of education and language learning: • Education is the task not only of the parents but also of society; at the very least, society should take care of schools and ensure the high-quality preparation of teachers; • Both devote an unusual attention to pre-school education; • The requirement of equality of opportunity for both sexes derives from the need to cultivate society as a whole, and thus is a political requirement; • The principle of auto-practice in teaching; • The linking of language and practical education, the parallelism of words and things; • Reflections on a universal language; • An identical theologically justified definition of human nature. The attempt to improve the state of society and the maintainence of peace was common to both. Their opinions of the value of peace, of the origins and consequences of its violation are very close; however, the direct influence of Vives on Comenius is in this case difficult to assume. The relationship can rather be explained by common biblical starting points and similar personal experiences of war. Comenius’ negative position vis-à-vis violence of every kind reached its strongest expression in the incomplete working text of Clamores Eliae (Elijah’s Outcries). Identically with Vives and Christian tradition, he sees the cause of wars in the fact that man has distanced himself and betrayed his nature and his mission, and tries to place himself on a level with God. Both regard pride and arrogance as a source of much evil. Vives and Comenius, each in his own way, gather many arguments to show that war is unfitting, not only in its material aspect but primarily from the moral and Christian point of view. For them, peace does not mean the mere laying aside of weapons; the condition of inner peace is the reconciliation of man with himself and with God. Through their emphasis on ethics both thinkers go beyond the vague pacifism of the humanists. They know that only the wise man can be a peaceful person. They agree in the definition of education as care for the soul, whose functioning rids man of roughness and wildness and lets him become truly human. In this way the circle is closed that links the need for education with the striving for the establishment of peaceful relations, pedagogy with politics.

Keywords

EN

pedagogy; Jan Amos Comenius; Juan Luis Vives; conception of peace

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Acta Comeniana (International review of Comenius studies and early modern intellectual history)
• Year: 2007
• Volume: 20-21
• Pages: 167-175

Contributors

author

Beneš Jiří

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