The almost mystical and very emotional character displayed by some of the Würt¬
temberg Pietists was foreign to him. Though some of his language would have
sounded very familiar to someone who had read Spener's Pia Desideria, his teach¬
ing was in many ways different and not always compatible with it.
Carl Hinrichs, Preußentum und Pietismus, p. 281. See also "Der Hallesche Pietis¬
mus als Politisch-Soziale Reformbewegung des 18. Jahrhunderts," Jahrbuch für
die Geschichte Mittel-und Ostdeutschlands 2 (1953), pp. 177—189.
Luise AdelgundeViktorie Gottsched's comedy Die Pietisterey im Fischbein-Rocke,
oder die doktormäßige Frau (Pietism in Petticoats, or the Doctorlike Woman) of
1737 throws interesting light on this period. It was meant to make fun of the con¬
ditions in Königsberg. See L. A. Gottsched, Pietism in Petticoats and Other Come¬
dies, tr. Thomas Kerth and John R. Russell (Columbia, S. C: Camden House, 1994).
Most commentators who make this claim are rather vague about what this Pietism
actually amounted to. See Ward, The Development of Kant's View of Ethics, p. 3, as
one example of many.
Borowski, Leben, p. 37.
Rink, Ansichten, p. I3f.
It should be remembered that Kant himself believed that "children cannot un¬
derstand all religious concepts" even though one must teach some to them, namely
what "God" cannot mean. In particular, he felt it was of the utmost importance to
teach that "true estimation of God consists in doing his will," and that the con¬
cepts of "God" and "duty" needed to be brought together (Kant, Pedagogy, p. 56).
Ward, The Development of Kant's View of Ethics, p. 3. There is no such fact, since
there was no such church.
Kant, Pedagogy, pp. 38-39. Wolfgang Ritzel, "Wie ist Pädagogik als Wissenschaft
möglich," in Kant und die Pädagogik. Pädagogik und praktische Philosophie (Würz¬
burg: Könighausen & Neumann, 1985), pp. 37-45, p. 36, points out quite correctly
that Rink's text must be used with care, since he mixed notes from different periods,
and since it is not always clear which are Kant's own pronouncements.
Kant, Pedagogy, pp. 50-51.
Kant, Pedagogy, p. 52.
Kant, Metaphysics of Morals, ed. Gregor, p. 268. Kant is here talking about teachers,
but it is relevant for parents too.
Kant, Pedagogy, p. 56.
Kant, Metaphysics of Morals, ed. Gregor, p. 272.
Kant's account of how children should be educated is not primarily a description
of his own education. We should therefore be careful in drawing conclusions from
it concerning Kant's early life. Given Kant's characterization of his earliest edu¬
cation as morally ideal, it is reasonable to use his mature view of education in
elucidating the way he was educated. It is certainly more appropriate to use Kant's
comments than those of Borowski and others. If we take Kant's own account of a
good moral education seriously, then there is no room for "the demand for holi¬
ness" that Borowski identifies. Children should be taught to do their duty, not to
"please" God (or anyone else, for that matter). "Holy" for Borowski and the Pietists
basically meant "belonging to, derived from, or associated with God." Kant felt it
was better to leave such notions for later.
