Varieties of 'Bildsamkeit'

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.