The Origin of the Concept of “Allgemeinbildung” in 18th Century Germany

Abstract

The German theory of education refers mainly to what is called “Bildung.” The historical sense of “Bildung” is not “cultivaion”, but cultivation for inwardness. This concept has two sources, the neo-platonic “inner soul” on one hand, pietistic piety on the other hand. The article shows that these sources had been part of European discussions before the development of national cultures after 1750. So the German concept of “Bildung,” famous for the German “Sonderweg” in culture and politics, had been composed out of non-German sources. The “nationalizaiton” of inwardness began at the end of the 18th century and was established in 19th century German Higher Education.