Presència de Rousseau a Catalunya: entre el mite i la realitat

Abstract

This paper offers an overview of Rousseaus thought, using as its starting point its relation with stoic philosophy and dependence on Montaignes ideas, while at the same time highlighting in the light of the Profession of faith of a Savoyard vicar, one of his most salient texts, as Rousseau himself said the religious and spiritual dimension of his world view. It should not be forgotten that Rousseau not only turned away from the philosophy of the Enlightenment but also from those who maintained materialistic and atheistic theses, advocating instead a natural religion. Given these factors, it is not surprising that pedagogic naturalism found fertile ground in Catalonia during the first years of the 20th century, as its adaptation facilitated the development of a spiritual philosophy that matched the views of many schoolteachers who conceived Nature as a living thing. Thus, its religious undertones and quest for a natural life, without losing sight of the demand for austerity, held considerable appeal for the Catalan pedagogic renewal movement. Indeed, the Romantic tradition acted as a bridge that, through authors such as Alexander von Humboldt, enabled Rousseaus ideas to germinate in Catalonia. However, with the advent of Noucentism in Catalonia in the early 20th century, authors such as Eugenio dOrs published harsh criticisms of Rousseaus romanticism. Other thinkers, such as Joaquín Xirau who wrote within the historical context of the Spanish Republic also moved away from Rousseaus ideas about education. However, it is possible to postulate that Rousseaus ideas triumphed indirectly through Goethe the Romantic genius who came to be viewed as the champion of Neoclassicism and Dewey, considering the concomitances between naturalism and pragmatism. The paper concludes that the presence of Rousseaus pedagogics in the pedagogic renewal movement during the early decades of the 20th century in Catalonia is more a horizon that was aspired towards than a systematically and solidly built reality.