Friedrich Dittes (23 September 1829 in Irfersgrün – 15 May 1896 in

Pressbaum Pressbaum is a town in the district of St. Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. In 1881, Johannes Brahms completed his Second Piano Concerto while in the town. It belonged to Wien-Umgebung District Bezirk Wien-Umgebung was a d ...

) was a German-Austrian educator, known for his reform efforts within the Austrian school system. He studied various subjects at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

, and in 1860 became sub-rector at a secondary school in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

. In 1865 he was named director of the teacher's college in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, then three years later relocated to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

as director of the Pedagogium (a training facility for teachers).Dittes, Friedrich
In:

Neue Deutsche Biographie ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...

(NDB). Band 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, , S. 2 f.Friedrich Dittes. Radierung, 1872
AEIOU He was a disciple of philosopher

Friedrich Eduard Beneke Friedrich Eduard Beneke (; 17 February 1798 – c. 1 March 1854) was a German psychologist and post-Kantian philosopher. Life Beneke was born in Berlin. He studied at the universities of University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle and Humboldt Unive ...

, especially in regards to the latter's empirical approach to psychology and ethics. He was also influenced by the past work of educationist

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (, ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking r ...

and the contemporary teachings of

Adolph Diesterweg Friedrich Adolph Wilhelm Diesterweg (29 October 1790 in Siegen7 July 1866 in Berlin) was a German educator, thinker, and progressive liberal politician, who campaigned for the secularization of schools. He is said to be precursory to the reform ...

. As an educator, Dittes believed that a school system needed to be essentially free from external pressures that included the clergy. From 1868 to 1896 he was editor of the journa
"''Paedagogium : Monatsschrift für Erziehung und Unterricht''"
The thoroughfare "Dittesgasse" in

Währing Währing () is the 18th district of Vienna and lies in northwestern Vienna on the edge of the Vienna Woods. It was formed in 1892 from the unification of the older suburbs of Währing, Weinhaus, Gersthof, Pötzleinsdorf, Neustift am Walde and Sa ...

(18th district of Vienna) is named in his honor.

Selected works

* ''Das menschliche Bewusstsein, wie es psychologisch zu erklären und pädagogisch Auszubilden'' (1853). * ''Das Aesthetische nach seinem eigenthümlichen Grundwesen und seiner pädagogischen Bedeutung dargestellt'' (1854) – The aesthetic represented by its unique fundamental essence and its educational significance. * ''Über die sittliche Freiheit, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Systeme von Spinoza, Leibnitz, Kant. Nebst einer Abhandlung über den Eudämonismus'' (1860) – On moral freedom, with particular attention to the systems of

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...

Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemolo ...

. * ''Lehrbuch der Psychologie'' (1873) – Textbook of psychology. * ''Praktische Logik. Besonders für Lehrer'' (3rd edition, 1873) – Practical logic; especially for teachers. * ''Lehrbuch der praktischen logik'' (6th edition, 1876) – Textbook of practical logic. * ''Geschichte der Erziehung und des Unterrichtes'' (9th edition, 1890) – History of education and teaching. * ''Schule der pädagogik. Gesammtausgabe der psychologie und logik, erziehungs- und unterrichtslehre, methodik der volksschule, geschichte der erziehung und des unterrichtes'' (4th edition, 1891) – School of pedagogy. Complete edition of psychology and logic, educational and teaching doctrines, methodology of the elementary school, history of education and teaching.HathiTrust Digital Library
(published works)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dittes, Friedrich 1829 births 1896 deaths People from Lengenfeld People from the Kingdom of Saxony German Lutherans Constitutional Party (Austria) politicians Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1873–1879) German educational theorists Austrian educational theorists 19th-century educational theorists Leipzig University alumni