Comenius and philosophy of educational methods: intuitive method

The intuitive method has been explained as a method oposing the traditional ways of mere memorization and starting from the concept of man’s nature as a result of the philosophy of Nature, of religiously based ethics and of empiricism. There are given examples of earlier efforts of the new education (in the sixteenth century) and philosophical-educational concepts e.g. of the seventeenth, eighteenth centuries are mentioned as concerning empiricism, naturality, intuition. Within this historical context some Comenian principles of educational methods are discussed, relating to his philosophy of education based on the relations of ratio-oratio-operatio respecting theological, psychological and social aspects. Having considered the necessity of integrating thinking, speaking and acting Comenius emphasized the interrelations between man’s inner world and the outer (milieu), between intentionality and spontaneity in education. Towards the end, the author of this article mentions the role of syncritical method as an original methodological approach of Comenius to the things and phenomena of the world.