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László Vincze: An Appendix to the Works of History of Education

The history of education has concentrated mainly on the idyllic which is only one side of reality. To conceal certain elements of reality is forgery, says the author, which an educational historian cannot allow. The paper discusses crimes committed against children in three groups: (1) infanticides, (2) punitive measures brought against children, (3) child sexual abuse. It describes these astonishing cruelties starting from the ancient Greeks. Rousseau was the first to protest against all these. An important statement by the author is that this is not a psychological but rather a social-economic problem. The "Taigethos" method, for example, was used as birth control or family planning device in ancient times. The author also refers to those abuses that have a psychological explanation as their basis but their number is very low. The indirect way of killing a child was to hand it over for nursing so as to get rid of him/her. Most of the children died at their foster parents. The author also presents the different psychological explanations of abuse with special regard to psychoanalysis and gives a criticism of them.

MAGYAR PEDAGÓGIA 91. Number 3-4. 195-214. (1991)

Levelezési cím / Address for correspondence: Vincze László, H-1137 Budapest, Szent I. Park 17.

 
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Magyar Tudományos Akadémia