ABSTRACT
Language was considered a crucial measurement of a culture's degree of Bildung, a belief that was incorporated into the classical theory of Bildung. In 1745, the Swiss philosopher Johann Georg Sulzer was among the first to use the term Bildung. In Versuch von der Erziehung und Unterweisung der Kinder, Sulzer uses the term Bildung when discussing the role formal schooling can play in developing good judgment and educating the mind. Fine arts touch every individual and produce the desired educational effect. This belief in aesthetics as a powerful tool to transcend reason will remain throughout the development of Bildung as an educational concept. One of the first writers to propose an educational theory based on Bildung was the German philosopher and theologian Johann Gottfried Herder. Herder's concept of Bildung has religious, or, more precisely, Protestant roots. The genre Bildungsroman as a story of successful self-discovery peaked around 1800 in Germany, entered a state of crisis around 1900.
