Varieties of Bildsamkeit

Abstract

Every theory of education endorses an image of a human being as someone who can be educated and is capable of self-education and self-cultivation. Since J.F. Herbart, educationalists have been sketching this image under the title Bildsamkeit, which has become a central element of the specific German way of speaking about educational reality. Herbart famously claimed that the Bildsamkeit of the one who is to be educated is the basic concept of scientific pedagogy. In the first half of 20th century, W. Flitner claimed that Bildsamkeit is one of the key concepts of a general theory of education. Bildsamkeit is even more difficult to translate than Bildung. Possible candidates could be educability, malleability, perfectibility, and plasticity. While the richness of this notion cannot be exhaustively translated into a single term, and while the meaning of a concept is, after all, in its use, this article aims to make explicit how this concept is used in different contexts. First, the philosophical anthropology behind this concept will be discussed. Second, the focus will be on the question of how Bildsamkeit is entwined in educational interaction. Finally, the connections between Bildsamkeit subjectivity and individuality will be thematized. These contemplations might give some provisional guidelines for future translations of this concept. 

Bildsamkeit is even more difficult to translate than Bildung. Possible candidates would be such as educability, malleability, perfectibility and plasticity. While the richness of this notion cannot be exhaustively translated into a single term, and while the meaning of a concept is, after all, in its use, this article aims to make explicit how this concept is used in different contexts. First, the philosophical anthropology behind this concept will be discussed. Second, the focus will be on the question how Bildsamkeit is entwined in educational interaction. Finally, the connection between Bildsamkeit and subjectivity will be thematized. These contemplations might give some provisional guidelines for future translations of this concept.   

Key words: Bildsamkeit, Bildung, anthropology, education