A Conceptual Analysis and A Discussion on the Relationship between Individual and Society in Humboldt’s Theory of Bildung

Abstract

The concept of bildung is an important concept with a distinctive place in various areas such as theology, philosophy, education, and politics. Wilhelm von Humboldt, with his ideas developed through the concept of bildung, extended his ideas to both a theory of society and a theory of education and contributed to the discussions on theories of bildung. This work first provides an analysis on the concept of bildung and then, within the scope of Humboldt’s ideas and by examining personal, societal and inter-societal aspects of the concept, provides analyses on some key concepts and a discussion on the idea of humanity shaped by personal and societal formation processes, within the limits of philosophy of education and political philosophy.

Keywords

• Bildung
• Humboldt
• Individual
• Society
• Freedom
• Diversity
• Humanity

Humboldt’un Bildung Kuramında Birey-Toplum İlişkisi Üzerine Kavramsal Bir Analiz ve Tartışma

Abstract

Bildung kavramı teoloji, felsefe, eğitim ve siyaset gibi birçok alanda kendine özgü yeri olan önemli bir kavramdır. Wilhelm von Humboldt bildung kavramı üzerinden hem bir toplum kuramı hem de bir eğitim kuramı oluşturacak şekilde genişlettiği görüşleriyle bu kavram odağındaki tartışmalara önemli bir katkı yapmıştır. Bu çalışma öncelikle bildung kavramına dair bir analizi sunmakla beraber, özellikle Humboldt’un bildung kuramına dair görüşleri çerçevesinde kavramın bireysel, toplumsal ve toplumlararası boyutlarını inceleyerek hem bazı kavramsal analizler ortaya koyar hem de bir bildung anlayışı üzerinden kişisel ve toplumsal biçimlenme süreçlerinin ortaya koyduğu insanlık idealini siyaset felsefesi ve eğitim felsefesi sınırlarında tartışır.

Keywords

• Bildung
• Humboldt
• Birey
• Toplum
• Özgürlük
• Çeşitlilik
• İnsanlık

References

1. Alves, A. (2019). The German Tradition of Self-Cultivation (Bildung) and its Historical Meaning. Educação & Realidade, Porto Alegre, 44 (2), 1-18. DOI: 10.1590/2175-623683003.
2. Bauer, W. (2003). Introduction. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35 (2), 133-137.
3. Bruford, W. H. (1935). Germany in the Eighteenth Century: The Social Background of the Literary Revival. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4. Burrow, J. W. (1969). Editor’s Introduction. The Limits of State Action (W. v. Humboldt, vii-xliii). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5. Horlacher, R. (2004). Bildung – A Construction of a History of Philosophy of Education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 23, 409-426.
6. Horlacher, R. (2012). What is Bildung? Or: Why Pädagogik cannot Get Away from the Concept of Bildung. Theories of Bildung and Growth (ed. P. Siljander, A. Kivelä, A. Sutinen, pp. 135-147). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
7. Hotam, Y. (2019). Bildung: Liberal Education and Its Devout Origins. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 53 (4), 619-632.
8. Klafki, W. (2000). Didaktik Analysis as the Core of Preparation for Instruction. Teaching as a Reflective Practice: The German Didaktik Tradition (ed. I. Westbury, S. Hopmann, K. Riquarts, pp. 139-159). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

9. Koselleck, R. (2002). The Practice of Conceptual History: Timing History, Spacing Concepts. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
10. Luth, C. (1998). On Wilhelm von Humboldt’s Theory of Bildung Dedicated to Wolfgang Klafki for His 70th Birthday. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 30 (1), 43-59. DOI: 10.1080/002202798183756.
11. Madsen, K. L. & Aggerholm, K. (2020). Embodying Education – A Bildung Theoretical Approach to Movement Integration. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 6 (2), 157-164.
12. Nordenbo, S. E. 2002. Bildung and the thinking of Bildung. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 36 (3), 341-352.
13. Pinar, W. F., Reynolds, W. M., Slattery, P. & Taubmann, P. M. (1995). Understanding Curriculum: An Introduction to the Study of Historical and Contemporary Curriculum Discourses. New York: Peter Lang.
14. Sorkin, D. (1983). Wilhelm von Humboldt: The Theory and Practice of Self-Formation (Bildung), 1791-1810. Journal of the History of Ideas, 44 (1), 55-73.
15. Varkøy, Ø. (2010). The Concept of “Bildung”. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 18 (1), 85-96.
16. von Humboldt, W. (2000). Theory of Bildung. Teaching as a Reflective Practice: The German Didaktik Tradition (ed. I. Westbury, S. Hopmann, K. Riquarts, 57-62). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
17. von Humboldt, W. (1969). The Limits of State Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
18. Westbury, I. (2000). Teaching as Reflective Practice. Teaching as a Reflective Practice: The German Didaktik Tradition (ed. I. Westbury, S. Hopmann, K. Riquarts, pp. 15-39). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
19. Westbury, I., Hopmann, S. & Riquarts, K. (2000). Teaching as a Reflective Practice: The German Didaktik Tradition. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
20. Wulf, C. (2003). Perfecting the Individual: Wilhelm von Humboldt’s Concept of Anthropology, Bildung and Mimesis. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35 (2), 241-249.