Education for Citizenship and ‘Ethical Life’: An Exploration of the Hegelian Concepts ofBildungandSittlichkeit

Abstract

The significance of German Romantic and Hegelian philosophy for educational practice is not attended to as much as it deserves to be, both as a matter of historical interest and of current importance. In particular, its role in shaping the thought of John Dewey, whose educational philosophy is of seminal importance for discussions on education for citizenship, is of considerable interest, as recent work by Jim Garrison () and James Good (; ) has shown. This article focuses on the Hegelian concepts of Bildung and Sittlichkeit in order to consider how they may illuminate the purpose and practice of education for citizenship through a conceptualisation of the relationship of individual to society, and, specifically, through the idea of cultural induction. The discussion takes as its principal reference point the Scottish policy context.

Forming the Professional Self: Bildung and the ontological perspective on professional education and development

“…Bauer, 2003;Englund, 2002;Jessop, 2012;Reichenbach, 2002aReichenbach, , 2002bWhite, 2013), yet the possibility of a sovereign, self-forming subject-a premise of Bildung-remains debated. While some support the central premise of autonomous self-formation inherent in Bildung and thus affirm the subject's sovereignty (e.g.…”

“…Thus, in addition to autonomous rationality, both personal morals and shared cultural and ethical values are important markers for the thoughts and actions of the gebildete individual. This communal element of Bildung, strongly influenced by Hegel's communitarianism, has informed the important tradition in educational philosophy that concerns itself with the importance of self-formation processes for democratic education (see Bauer, 2003;Englund, 2002;Løvlie, 2002;Reichenbach, 2002aReichenbach, , 2002bWhite, 2013) and has strongly influenced important contributions and contributors to this topic such as Dewey (see Jessop, 2012).…”

Bildung: Liberal Education and its Devout Origins

“…Herder and Hegel's inclusion of the notion of Bildung into the philosophy of history is a case in point. Both aimed at a concept of Bildung that would unite the cultivation of the ‘single, individual’ human being and that of the ‘universal’ individual (Bauer, , p. 134; Jessop, ). Notwithstanding the many differences between these intellectuals’ social and political views, they were united in their deep reverence towards Bildung as the self‐cultivation that is free forming of the rational humanistic individual.…”

“…Thus, in capturing an idyllic, enlightened, humanistic, and liberal education, this 200‐year‐old, rather vague German educational concept which has ‘no satisfactory English substitute’ (Reichenbach, , p. 202) acquired an iconic position of sorts that has transcended the borders of German history. This iconic position has induced a rather wide scope of scholars to bring Bildung to bear on various contemporary educational issues (Bauer, ; Gur Ze'ev, ; Hammershoj, ; Jessop, ; Moos, ; Reichenbach, , ; Thompson, ).…”

Higher Education and Problems of Citizenship Formation

“…Prominent examples include John Dewey's pragmatism, J. S. Mill's liberalism, or Jean‐Jacques Rousseau's participatory democracy. Less frequently cited examples might include Oakeshott's conservatism, Hegel's focus on Bildung in relation to education (Jessop, , p. 299) or Habermas’ critical theory.…”