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(, "education", "formation", etc.) refers to the German tradition of self-cultivation (as related to the German for: creation, image, shape), wherein philosophy and education are linked in a manner that refers to a process of both personal and cultural maturation. This maturation is a harmonization of the individual's mind and heart and in a unification of selfhood and identity within the broader society, as evidenced with the literary tradition of ''
Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...
''. In this sense, the process of harmonization of mind, heart, selfhood and identity is achieved through personal transformation, which presents a challenge to the individual's accepted beliefs. In
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...
's writings, the challenge of personal growth often involves an agonizing alienation from one's "natural consciousness" that leads to a reunification and development of the self. Similarly, although social unity requires well-formed institutions, it also requires a diversity of individuals with the
freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...
(in the positive sense of the term) to develop a wide-variety of talents and abilities and this requires personal
agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that s ...
. However, rather than an end state, both individual and social unification is a process that is driven by unrelenting negations. In this sense, education involves the shaping of the human being with regard to their own
humanity Humanity most commonly refers to: * Human, also humankind * Humanity (virtue) Humanity may also refer to: Literature * ''Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century'', a 1999 book by Jonathan Glover * ''Humanity'', a 1990 science fiction n ...
as well as their innate intellectual skills. So, the term refers to a process of becoming that can be related to a process of becoming within
existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...
. The term also corresponds to the
Humboldtian model of higher education The Humboldtian model of higher education (German: ''Humboldtsches Bildungsideal'') or just Humboldt's ideal is a concept of higher education, academic education that emerged in the early 19th century whose core idea is a Holism, holistic combina ...
from the work of Prussian philosopher and educational administrator
Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a German philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1949, the university was named aft ...
(1767–1835). Thus, in this context, the concept of education becomes a lifelong process of human development, rather than mere training in gaining certain external knowledge or skills. Such training in skills is known by the German words ''Erziehung'', and ''Ausbildung''. in contrast is seen as a process wherein an individual's spiritual and cultural sensibilities as well as life, personal and social skills are in process of continual expansion and growth. is seen as a way to become more free due to higher self-reflection. Von Humboldt wrote with respect to in 1793/1794:
Education [], truth and virtue" must be disseminated to such an extent that the "concept of mankind" takes on a great and dignified form in each individual (GS, I, p. 284). However, this shall be achieved personally by each individual, who must "absorb the great mass of material offered to him by the world around him and by his inner existence, using all the possibilities of his receptiveness; he must then reshape that material with all the energies of his own activity and appropriate it to himself so as to create an interaction between his own personality and nature in a most general, active and harmonious form
Most explicitly in Hegel's writings, the tradition rejects the pre-Kantian metaphysics of being for a post-Kantian metaphysics of experience. Much of Hegel's writings were about the nature of education (both and ''Erziehung''), reflecting his own role as a teacher and administrator in German secondary schools, and in his more general writings. More recently,
Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; 11 February 1900 – 13 March 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 on hermeneutics, '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''). Life Family and early life Gad ...
and McDowell have used the concept in their writings.


Bildung in Germany today

Professor of philosophy
Julian Nida-Rümelin Julian Nida-Rümelin (born 28 November 1954) is a German philosopher and public intellectual. He served as State Minister for Culture of the Federal Republic of Germany under Chancellor Schröder. He was professor of philosophy and political ...
has challenged the idea that Bildung is no more than 'normal' education.


See also

* ''
Bildungsbürgertum ''Bildungsbürgertum'' (German: �bɪldʊŋsˌbʏʁɡɐtuːm "cultured / educated middle class") was a social class that emerged in mid-18th-century Germany as the educated social stratum of the bourgeoisie. It was a cultural elite that had rec ...
'' *
Coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
*
Cultural literacy Cultural literacy is a term coined by American educator and literary critic E. D. Hirsch, referring to the ability to understand and participate fluently in a given culture. Cultural literacy is an analogy to literacy proper (the ability to read ...
*
Etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...
*
General knowledge General knowledge is information that has been accumulated over time through various media and sources. It excludes specialized learning that can only be obtained with extensive training and information confined to a single medium. General know ...
*
High culture In a society, high culture encompasses culture, cultural objects of Objet d'art, aesthetic value that a society collectively esteems as exemplary works of art, as well as the literature, music, history, and philosophy a society considers represen ...
*
Manners Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and n ...
*
Prudence Prudence (, contracted from meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four cardinal virtues (which are, ...
*
Wisdom Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...


References

* Bruford, W. H. (1975). The German Tradition of Self-Cultivation: Bildung from Humboldt to
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
, London: Cambridge University Press. * Wood, Allen W. (1998). "Hegel on Education," Amélie O. Rorty (ed.) ''Philosophers on Education''. London: Routledge, 1998. * Alves, Alexandre (2019). "The German Tradition of Self-Cultivation (Bildung) and its Historical Meaning", Educação & Realidade 44(2).https://www.scielo.br/j/edreal/a/HLLcPFh84zpNNdDrrvnBWvb/?lang=en {{Humanities Education in Germany Philosophy of education German words and phrases Personal development Concepts in aesthetics