Self-Cultivation and Its Discontents

Abstract

Kierkegaard shared many of the general views on education typical of the German Bildung-movement (represented by, inter alia, Goethe, Schiller, Humboldt and Hegel), but also criticized it for tending towards conformism and superficial learnedness. The core elements of the classical notion of self-cultivation (or Bildung) are outlined. Kierkegaard’s ambiguous and probing stance towards self-cultivation is exemplified by one of his main characters, Judge Vilhelm, who in Either/Or II is depicted as partly succeeding in cultivating his own personality, but also as taking too much pleasure in his own apparent mastery of life. Kierkegaard emphasized the importance of metacognitive skills and emotional self-regulation, but insisted that such abilities should be unified and directed by a fundamental commitment to achieve authenticity.