Classical Humanism and the Challenge of Modernity: Debates on Classical Education in 19th-century Germany

248 Pages·2015·3.4 MB·English

by  Bas van Bommel

Bas van Bommel
Classical Humanism and the Challenge of Modernity
Philologus
Zeitschrift für antike Literatur und ihre Rezeption /
A Journal for Ancient Literature and its Reception
Supplemente /
Supplementary Volumes
Herausgegeben von / Edited by
Markus Asper, Sabine Föllinger, Therese Fuhrer,
Christof Rapp, Katharina Volk
Volume 1
Bas van Bommel
Classical Humanism
and the Challenge
of Modernity
Debates on Classical Education in 19th-century Germany
DE GRUYTER
ISBN978-3-11-036543-6
e-ISBN(PDF)978-3-11-036593-1
e-ISBN(EPUB)978-3-11-039140-4
ISSN2199-0255
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ACIPcatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenappliedforattheLibraryofCongress.
BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek
TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutscheNationalbibliografie;
detailedbibliographicdataareavailableontheInternetathttp://dnb.dnb.de.
©2015WalterdeGruyterGmbH,Berlin/Munich/Boston
Typesetting:KonradTriltsch,PrintunddigitaleMedienGmbH,Ochsenfurt
Printingandbinding:CPIbooksGmbH,Leck
♾Printedonacid-freepaper
PrintedinGermany
www.degruyter.com
To Jeroen A.E. Bons
amico humanissimo

Contents
Preface XI
Abbreviations XIII
Introduction 1
Classical education and modern society 1
The concept of ‘neohumanism’ 3
‘Neohumanism’ versus classical humanism 6
The paradigm of modernity 12
Structure and method 14
Part I: The Persistence of Classical Humanism
19th-century classical humanism: the case of Karl Gottfried Siebelis (1769–
1843) 19
Introduction 19
Nine constitutive aspects of classical humanism 23
The variety of classical humanism 36
Teaching practice 41
The persistence of classical humanism 52
Part II: The Adaptability of Classical Humanism
Introduction 61
. The Challenge of Science 64
Introduction 64
Philology asscience 64
Classical humanism and scientific philology 64
Classical education as schöne Wissenschaft 69
The Kantian turn 73
Classical philology as ‘pure science:’ Friedrich August Wolf 75
Scientific philology asa humanistic discipline 79
The continuity of Gymnasium education 87
VIII Contents
Pedagogy as science 94
Introduction 94
National education: Fichte and Jachmann 95
The unitary school: Humboldt and Süvern 99
Humanism as totalitarian pedagogy 102
Mythos Humboldt 105
. The Challenge of the Bürgerschule 110
Introduction 110
Classical education and the rise of the Bürgerschule 1770–1800 115
Introduction 115
The quest for Bürger education 117
Material and formal education 121
The common good 126
Conclusion 132
Latin education in Bürgerclassen 134
Introduction 134
Postponing Latin 134
Sprachen and Sachen 136
The quest for Latin textbooks 138
The fight against grammar: Latin asa colloquial language 141
Conclusion 145
The Bürgerschule as humanistic institution 1800–1860 147
Introduction 147
The concept of the Realgymnasium: Ernst Gottfried Fischer 148
Realism asa form of humanism 151
The Bürgerschule as humanistic institution 153
Formal education 
Ideal education 
Two types of humanness: Karl Scheibert 
The modern Humanitätsschule: Karl Mager 
Conclusion 166
. The Challenge of Christianity 168
Introduction 168
Classical humanism and rationalism 173
The quest for religious ethos 173
Education and ethos 176
‘Neohumanism’ and Christianity 178
Contents IX
Classical humanism and Christianity 183
Introduction 183
Classical antiquity as precursor of Christianity 183
Historicisation and educational practice 192
Curtailing classical education 194
The debate on patristic literature 199
Conclusion 203
Conclusion 204
Bibliography 208
Index 231