PROJECTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN IN THE XIX CNTURY

Abstract

The article is devoted to the projects of new universities, suggested by the outstanding German philosophers I. Kant, J. Engel, F. Schleiermacher, J. Fichte and W. Humboldt in the beginning of the XIX century which laid the foundation of a higher educational establishment in Berlin in 1809. On the basis of original sources and historic-pedagogical works analysis it has been determined the chronological order of these projects, followed their interrelation and highlighted their basic features (aim, goals, structure and faculties’
relations). There were revealed some unknown facts about the establishment of the University of Berlin. We found out that I. Kant considered the university to be autonomous, researching by character, which implied development of reason rather than teaching sciences, and it must meet the necessities of the state. He also set the framework of interfaculty relations. It is proved that the earliest known plan of the University of Berlin was worked out by K. Beyme and J. Engel in 1799–1800. According to it the university was to be established on the basis of the existing faculties and to use transformed academic forms. J. Fichte set moral virtue as the main principle of the new university whose task was to bring up youth through science and for science. In his project F. Schleiermacher distinguished the main task of university to develop students’ philosophical attitude to science therefore the philosophy faculty played the primary role in the university. The final project of the University of Berlin was composed by W. Humboldt of the best point of his counterparts’ opposing projects on the basis of transcendental philosophy of I. Kant’s.