Historical Context
Political, social and cultural background during the life of Piaget Jean.
Jean Piaget was born in 1896 in Neuchâtel, in French-speaking western Switzerland. The region was already an important center of industry and technical precision, especially associated with watchmaking, while the city itself was home to factories, printing houses and the major Suchard chocolate industry. This environment, together with the city’s university tradition, was particularly favorable to the natural sciences, which attracted Piaget from a very young age.
The Switzerland of his youth was a federal state undergoing industrial development and following a policy of neutrality. During the First World War, the country remained outside the military conflict, although the war created economic and social tensions within Switzerland. Swiss neutrality had been internationally recognized as early as 1815 and became a defining element of the country’s position in Europe.
In 1921, Piaget moved to Geneva at a particularly significant moment in the city’s history. After the devastation of the First World War, Geneva had been chosen as the headquarters of the League of Nations and was rapidly developing into an international center of diplomacy, peace and cooperation among states. The first Assembly of the League of Nations was held there in November 1920.
At the same time, Geneva had also become an important center for new ideas in education and child psychology. The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute, where Piaget began working in 1921, had been founded in 1912 and stood at the forefront of research into childhood and new educational methods. In the aftermath of the war, there was a strong belief that a different kind of education could contribute to the creation of a more peaceful and democratic society. It was from this intellectual environment that the International Bureau of Education also emerged, an institution Piaget directed for decades.
He later lived through the economic crisis of 1929, the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, and the Second World War. Switzerland remained neutral and avoide
The Switzerland of his youth was a federal state undergoing industrial development and following a policy of neutrality. During the First World War, the country remained outside the military conflict, although the war created economic and social tensions within Switzerland. Swiss neutrality had been internationally recognized as early as 1815 and became a defining element of the country’s position in Europe.
In 1921, Piaget moved to Geneva at a particularly significant moment in the city’s history. After the devastation of the First World War, Geneva had been chosen as the headquarters of the League of Nations and was rapidly developing into an international center of diplomacy, peace and cooperation among states. The first Assembly of the League of Nations was held there in November 1920.
At the same time, Geneva had also become an important center for new ideas in education and child psychology. The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Institute, where Piaget began working in 1921, had been founded in 1912 and stood at the forefront of research into childhood and new educational methods. In the aftermath of the war, there was a strong belief that a different kind of education could contribute to the creation of a more peaceful and democratic society. It was from this intellectual environment that the International Bureau of Education also emerged, an institution Piaget directed for decades.
He later lived through the economic crisis of 1929, the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe, and the Second World War. Switzerland remained neutral and avoide
Born
1896
Category
Psychology
Country
SWITZERLAND