A Study Of Herbart’s Didactic In Perspective Of Aesthetic

This study explores Herbart’s theory of instruction in perspective of his aesthetic thoughts,that is,the theory of "educational teaching",with a view to gaining insight and inspiration.The concept "aesthetic" here refers not only to the ability of the "aesthetic judgment",which is cultivated by the process of instruction,but also to the "aesthetic display of the world" as a teaching approach.“Herbart’s thoughts on aesthetics run through all his works.”(Ziechner,1914)His aesthetic ideas are not only the cornerstone of his aesthetics,ethics,and pedagogy,but also the core of his entire theoretical system.Therefore,they also should be the premise and basis of our understanding of his didactics.Based on Herbart’s aesthetic thoughts,other perspectives on Herbart-study in the past can be unified,and the connotation and significance of his theory of instruction can be manifested.This study focuses on three core issues: First,how is it possible to study Herbart’s teaching theory from an aesthetic perspective? Second,how to understand Herbart’s aesthetic thinking and its connection with education and teaching issues? Third,based on Herbart’s aesthetic thoughts,what are the objectives,contents and methods of his teaching theory?The first chapter is aimed at the first research problem.On the one hand,by learning from the experience of Germany “re-discovering” Herbart after World War II,it is clear that,the theoretical and logical inevitability of Herbart’s teaching theory is studied through aesthetic perspective.In terms of deconstructing and reflecting on China’s existing research on Herbart’s teaching theory,it establishes the necessity of aesthetic perspective to promote the study of Herbart’s teaching theory in China.The second and third chapters are aimed at the second research issue.The second chapter is to examine Herbart’s aesthetic thoughts and his theoretical source of constructing teaching theory.The reason why this work is important and necessary is that although Herbart himself has rich aesthetic thoughts,his discussion in aesthetic works is not exhaustive.Although Herbart proposed an aesthetic program or framework of his teaching theory,but the detailed explanation has not been carried out,and no targeted cases have been provided.The third chapter is an examination of Herbart’s "general aesthetics" and its connection with education and teaching.It can be seen that,on the one hand,Herbart uses his "aesthetic judgment" to run through his entire general education.It is not only the goal of teaching,but also the three forms of education(that is,management,teaching and training).Aesthetic judgment is also the essence of the teacher’s educational wisdom.On the other hand,Herbart also expands the aesthetic thought in general aesthetics from the perspective of education and adds a dimension of educational practice to general aesthetics.The fourth chapter is aimed at the third research issue,specifically about the essence of "aesthetic representation of the world",because it is a synonym of the teaching activities proposed by Herbart in a perspective of aesthetics to explore teaching problems.The “world” that the teacher wants to display includes both the scientific and aesthetic display of nature,as well as the practical and aesthetic display of human society and history.In term of teacher’s representation,the students honed and exercised the appreciation of science from the experience and communication of daily life,and gain the appreciation of beauty,the appreciation of society and politics,and the appreciation of religious spirit.In the understanding of this study,Herbart’s Appreciation ability is the ability to perfect the object and judge the appearance(i.e.aesthetic judgment),and what he calls “the aesthetic representation of the world” means that,by means of “intuitive ABC”,educators use physical objects(physical elements or objects themselves)or works(carriers of social history,including literature,reports,poems,paintings,etc.)in a manner that learners can accept and can open the process of education.Give them,guiding and promoting the learners to learn on their own learning objects.Based on the aesthetic perspective,the significance of the most positive interest theory in Herbart’s teaching theory will be further improved.Teaching is not only the source of spiritual life(i.e.,interest),but the spiritual life itself(i.e.,appreciation).After research,it was found that: Firstly,the instruction process advocated by Herbart is not only an educational teaching that combines teaching and educating(Erziehung),but also a self-educating(Bildung)process of students,and the key to the combination of Erziehung and Bildung is aesthetics(that is,man’s "esthetic inevitability" expressed in the aesthetic judgment process).Secondly,in order to implement the educational,edifying(bildend)and aesthetic teaching process,the teacher needs to resort to the method of “displaying the world aesthetically.” The key is to avoid simplifying various appreciation judgments(or aesthetic judgments).Thirdly,diverse and mutually harmonious aesthetic judgments are formed in a balanced and multifaceted expansion of the interest of learners.In other word,based on the aesthetic perspective,every interest that the teacher needs to expand is an interest of appreciation,each of which bears the temper and exercise of the corresponding appreciation.Thus,the question of how to expand interest through teaching has turned into the question of "how to display the world aesthetically in general." Only when this conversion is completed can the full picture of Herbart’s teaching theory—educational,edifying(bildend),and aesthetic—can be fully demonstrated.