While working as a private tutor to a Swiss family from 1796 to 1800, Herbart met Pestalozzi, the great Swiss educator and theorist of pedagogy. Pestalozzi’s critique of traditional instructional means and ends, and his emphasis on developing the pupil’s autonomy, would permanently stamp Herbart’s own pedagogic thought (Beiser 2014: 101). During this period, Herbart struggled to find his way out of Fichte’s shadow and discover his own system (Beiser 2014: 102–3). After personal trials involving his mother, Herbart moved to Göttingen, where he passed his doctoral and habilitation exams, lecturing there from 1802–1804. In his inaugural lecture on Plato’s theory of forms Herbart first mentions his “method of relations”, the logical basis for his metaphysical thought (see Section 2, below). While at Göttingen, he published the major works, Allgemeine Pädagogik (General Pedagogy, 1806a), Hauptpuncte der Metaphysik (Basic Points of Metaphysics, 1806b); and Allgemeine practische Philosophie, 1808). When Göttingen came under French occupation in 1806, Herbart’s situation there grew increasingly difficult.