On the Steinian Concept of Bildung

Formation as an 'aesthetic' process

Abstract

Edith Stein’s concept of Bildung/formation implies a series of aspects which weave together anthropology, pedagogy and ontology. The German philosopher declines the term Bild/image contained in Bildung, with the terms Abbild/copy and Urbild/archetype, which emerge particularly in her ontological writings. In this brief essay, we want to analyse the concept of Bildung/formation beginning with her vision of the human person so as to insert it into the wider context of ontology and reinterpret its conceptual form as an aesthetical process.