Herbart was born on May 4, 1776, in Oldenburg.[1] He displayed precocious philosophical talent, writing on the philosophy of Wolff and Kant in his early teens. His early education emphasized music, which would be reflected in his later writings.[2] His first teacher was his mother, who home-schooled him for many years, and later followed him to Jena, where he matriculated in 1794. There he met Fichte, becoming a member of his inner circle. Already by 1794, however, Herbart took a critical stance towards the  Wissenschaftslehre.[3]  Still, it was Fichte who set the general problem of Herbart’s life work: the ego and self-consciousness (cf. James 1890, Vol. I: 353–4; Beiser 2014: 101).