THE DEBATE ON THE SCIENTIFIC NATURE OF PEDAGOGY : BETWEEN FLORES, RUIZ AND RÉBSAMEN: A WORK OF INTELLECTUAL HISTORY

Abstract

This paper examines a debate that was developed among three prominent Mexican pedagogues in the 19th century: Manuel Flores, Luis Ruiz, and Enrique Rébsamen. Although their works have been studied in detail in the historiography of education, it has been overlooked that a debate occurred between them regarding the characterization of pedagogy. They discussed whether it was a science or an art, the reasons why it was considered one way or the other, and they proposed future directions for the development of the discipline. Based on the methodology of intellectual history, primarily represented by Skinner and Pocock, I will argue that the debate among these thinkers demonstrates that current discussions regarding pedagogy and the science of education have their own distinct genesis within the Mexican pedagogical field that has not been sufficiently considered in current educational research.