What is "philanthropinism"

Philanthropinism \Phil`an*throp"i*nism\, n. A system of education on so-called natural principles, attempted in Germany in the last century by Basedow, of Dessau.

n. A nineteenth-century German system of education, aiming to reform society by teaching children to become philanthropic, natural and rational beings.

Philanthropinism (also philanthropism) comes from the Greek φιλος (friend) and ανθροπος (human). It was an educational reform movement in the Age of Enlightenment in the German-speaking area, established in the second half of the eighteenth century. The programme aimed at educating a new man and at the same time at reforming society. The philanthropinists’ ideas of teaching children to become philanthropic, natural and rational beings are partly derived from the theories of childhood and education proposed by John Locke (1632-1704) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), among others.