While the concept of Bildung has acquired international currency in educational and philosophical studies, its moral implications have been obscured by existing educational accounts. I present the moral implications inherent in the term through specific reference to the early works of Wilhelm von Humboldt. In contrast to previous scholarships, where Humboldt’s theory of Bildung has been deployed for drawing on the account of the true end of the human being and the inner process of interaction between the self and the (...) world, I draw on Bildung as a moral conception of promoting a good life for others. To illustrate this conception, I (a) demonstrate the basic structure of Humboldt’s theory of Bildung by examining its four core components, (b) reconstruct Humboldt’s notion of virtue balanced state of various faculties as a moral ideal (c) consider Humboldt’s philosophical historiography to illustrate how Bildung can be mediated at individual and collective levels, and (d) present the concrete forms of the obligation to promote the good lives of others in his anthropological writings. (shrink)

Although the alienating journey into the unknown as the fundamental element of transformative education may have gained a paradigmatic expression in the German concept of Bildungsreise, it is neither a solely German or even European concept, nor is it a child of the 18th century: the transformative power of travelling has been acknowledged at least since antiquity in Europe, and comparable reflections and practices have evolved in other parts of the world. This article will introduce one of those examples that (...) may, only on first view though, look quite distinct from what is suggested as Bildungsreise: the strolling on the roji (露地), the path through the tea garden, before entering the chashitsu (茶室), the tea room, to participate in chanoyu (茶の湯), the tea ceremony, as it found its classic form in 16th-century Japan. Discussing this Japanese practice will not only support an intercultural perspective on the educative nature of travel and the relevance of space for the theory and practice of transformative education or Bildung, but also—more relevant from a philosophical point of view—enable an analysis of the conceptual core of the idea of a transformative journey. As will be shown, far from being a special case of education or Bildung, this conceptual structure lies at the very heart of both. (shrink)

The ideal of authenticity that developed in the Romantic era emphasized that both individuals and places find their own authentic process for cultivating their identity and humanity, a notion that has become controversial in modern philosophy. This article will explore the concepts of authenticity and place and discuss their relevance for Bildung theory today. Based on the works of Charles Taylor, we will argue that Bildung can be seen as constituted by and constitutive of language and moral spaces that go (...) beyond the self and its individuality. In this view, Bildung can be understood as a ‘moral topography of the self’ with both substantial and procedural aspects. However, language and moral spaces (i.e. communities) can both enable and constrict our Bildung processes. Drawing on Rahel Jaeggi, we thus argue that alienation is an equally important concept to understand the complex and dialectical relationship between individuals and communities in our current moment. (shrink)