Bildung as Irritation and Self-Irritation – Towards a Hermeneutics of Critical Engagement in Academic Legal Education

Bildung as Irritation and Self-Irritation – Toward a Hermeneutics of Critical Engagement in Academic Legal Education Bildung involves a productive tension between personal development and social engagement. In academic education, this means developing students’ critical thinking, autonomy and self-reflection while also encouraging social responsibility and awareness of their role in society. This article takes its cue from Gert Biesta’s influential critique of educational models that reduce learning to socialisation or qualification alone. Biesta emphasises subjectification and democratic participation as core educational aims. However, his focus on political engagement risks overlooking education’s distinct role in fostering disciplined inquiry and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Drawing on Oakeshott, Gadamer and Schleiermacher, a hermeneutic conception of Bildung is presented that views education as an ongoing dialogue with tradition, cultivating critical judgment and openness to diverse perspectives. This approach sustains a dynamic interplay between adherence to established law and the development of independent judgment. The final part shows how a hermeneutic approach can improve academic legal education by guiding course design, clarifying teacher and student roles, and promoting critical thinking and responsible legal judgment. Bildung thus requires legal education to prepare lawyers who engage critically with the rule of law while upholding its culture of legality.