The article describes the results of a research that investigated how the theme of the faculties of the soul and of their implications for human development and for the education of a person was made available in the late 19th century by the circulating press. In an attempt to contribute to the history of psychology and education, the article presents the analysis of writings on moral education and aesthetic education that appeared on a scientific or pedagogical section signed by José Miguel de Siqueira and published in the O Baependyano (1877-1889) periodical. Initially, brief descriptions of the periodical and of its position within the context of the time are made, as well as of the place at which it was published. Next, we deal with the definition of pedagogy presented by the periodical, taking into account the appropriations of foreign authors commonly present in the field of education. Pedagogy, regarded as modern, is defined in those writings as the expansion and development of the animal, rational and moral strengths of the human being; its purpose would be the formation of the social man ready for work and for the service of society and of the State. Based on this discussion, we investigate the conceptions of spontaneous education, regular education, and instruction contained in the periodical. Education is understood as the unity of culture and instruction, with the former being the chief responsible for directing the faculties of the soul and for moral formation; instruction, by its turn, is seen as the acquisition of knowledge, but also plays an important role in the formation of habits and customs.
Education; History of psychology; Faculties of the soul; 19th century; Written culture