Um livro didático da França iluminista: a Aritmética de Condorcet

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the textbook entitled “Moyens d’apprendre à compter sûrement et avec facilité”, written in 1794 by Condorcet (1743-1794) to be used in public instruction during French Revolution. We make an attempt to study the book – known as Condorcet’s Arithmetics – within the historical and philosophical context of France in the eighteenth century. The text presents a brief account of the educational situation in the country before the Revolution and considers the perspectives of revolutionary education. We pay particular attention to Condorcet’s Plan for Public Instruction and narrate the history of the textbook. We also describe and comment its content and we finish by analysing its methodological and psychological dimensions.