J. A. Comenius’ School of Old Age

Overview

The article presents a brief characteristic of the life history of J. A. Comenius and his philosophi-cal work framed in reformed theology. Many of his views were underrated, because the Descarti-an philosophy and subsequently psychology predominated. J. A. Comenius was a follower of tothe line of philosophers and teachers who belonged to the suppressed Paracelsian line. This wasdiscocvered in 1935 when the manuscript of his work De rerum humanorum emendatione con-sultatio catholica was found - where he described his „pansophia“ as a plan of knowledge accor-ding to the order of existence. Not only in the philosophical sense Comenius looked far ahead, butin particular in his psychology and pedagogics which he presented in his „panpedia“ - life-longeducation - where he outlines the road of responsibility for the sense of life. In his panpedia heaccentuates in the „school of adult age“ preparation for old age and in the „school of old age“, inparticular in the principles of instructiveness he was far ahead of his time. He outlined theprinciples of modern gerontopsychology, gerontopedagogics, gerontodiadactics etc. and indicatedthe road to contemporary universities for the old generation.

Key words:
J. A. Comenius, gerontopsychology, gerontopedagogics, philosophy, thanatology.