A Conception of the Didactics of Logic According to Jean Alexis Borrelly

The paper seeks to present a conception of the didactics of logic according to Jean Alexis Borrelly (1738-1810), the author of among others 'Plan de réformations des etudes élémentaires' (La Haye 1776) and a textbook for logic 'Elémens de l'art de penser, ou la logique, réduite a ce qu'elle a d'utile' (Berlin 1777). The legacy of Borrelly summarises the tendencies typical of the Enlightenment with regard to 1) reforms of education, 2) redefining values in the didactics of philosophy, and 3) modification in the then logic. The presentation has a twofold structure. In part one the author presents some specific characteristics of Borrelly's didactic plan against the background of school reforms. Part two is devoted to the teaching of logic: 1) the nature of logic in the didactic curriculum, 2) its realization in Borrelly's textbook for logic, and that against the background of modern tendencies in reforming a conception of this discipline. This is in particular with regards to the theory and practice of the didactics of logic in Polish school reforms contemporary to Borrelly's accomplishments. It has been pointed out that both at the declarative level and in the textbooks Borrelly's conception is an example of eclectic achievements typical of the Enlightenment. They come to terms with the radical solutions (e. g. Descartes, Locke), hostile to formal logic, with school requirements, a fact that makes Borrelly's solution to be one of the standards characteristic, for instance, of the popular 'Logic of Port-Royal' by A. Arnauld and P. Nicole.