Public nature of education, power of public opinion: The thoughts of Destutt de Tracy at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries

Résumé 0

This article discusses the relationship between the public nature of education and that of opinion based on the writings of Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836) by shedding light on the communicative nature of rationality in his work. Examining first how public education is based on an adapted communication of truth, it then examines the limits of this theoretical education and the ambiguities of Destutt de Tracy regarding the figure of the legislator-pedagogue. Rejecting it in the last part of his work, he comes to think of an education of political institutions through public opinion, without however detaching it from a norm of truth. Learning, then, does not only concern citizens, but the public authority itself. However, it seems that the concept of public and communication are ultimately based on a development of the sphere of exchanges and needs. Far from establishing the autonomy of an educational or political space, the concept of public is dependent on both economic and theoretical aspects.