Die Rousseaurezeption auf deutschösterreichischem Gebiet.Von Lessings Rezensionen bis Mildes Auslegung (1751-1813)

Recent historiographical interpretations have questioned Rousseau’s influence on the Progressive education in Germany (Reformpädagogik), highlighting anti-Rousseaunism in political and theological German thought. On this base, the article retraces the history of the reception, in German-speaking countries, of the Genevan philosopher’s thought with specific attention to the early decades, in which the biography of Rousseau played a significant role, and to Kant’s interpretation, purely theoretical. The article stresses that, although characterized by strong criticisim particularly under a political and religious perspective, the Rousseau’s reception was more effective under strictly pedagogical aspect, thanks mainly to Campe; whilst in the Habsburg Empire and Bavaria the attention focused on the issue of religious instruction, up to Milde’s interpretation, influenced by Kant and Pestalozzi. In conclusion, the historiographical view which emphasizes the German political and theological anti-Rousseaunism ends up diminishing excessively the influence that Rousseau had upon educators, from Campe to Salzmann, from Richter to Froebel and Pestalozzi – whereas the qualitative discontinuity between Rousseau’s pedagogy and Reformpädagogik originates from the aporetical nature of the Genevan’s thought itself.