Although the ideal of authenticity can be traced back to thinkers such as Augustine and Rousseau, it gained prominence in the Nordic tradition of folk-Bildung by virtue of the German philosopher J. G. Herder. Herder is best known for his polemics against Kant’s idea of pure reason, arguing instead that reason is deeply embedded in the particularities of places – in languages and histories. In Herder’s (2002[1774]) view, nations, communities, and individuals, would have to find their own authentic cultivation processes towards humanity. Ideas about authenticity as an equally anthropological and communitarian potential, gained momentum in the era of nation-building and folk-Bildung in Nordic societies. Today, however, authenticity is scarcely discussed as an explicit ideal for Bildung. This presentation will discuss whether authenticity should be considered relevant for normative pedagogical theory today and (re-)establishing theoretical connections to Bildung and place. Charles Taylor (1991) has argued for authenticity as a modern virtue. However, Taylor argues that authenticity as an ideal has the potential of creating both subverted and elevated forms of self-fulfillment. For instance, if not to be subverted into narcissism, authenticity needs orientation towards “horizons of significance”, that is, sources of meaning and morality that exist independent of an individual. Based on Taylor, we argue that a Bildung-theory that values authenticity must be orientated towards such “horizons of significance”, located in language communities. This way, the concepts of Bildung, authenticity, and place become substantially connected. Still, the archetypical image of the Bildung journey implies a dialectical movement between two features: inauguration into what is known as well as openness and transcendence to the unknown. If authenticity is associated with being faithful to something original, it mainly emphasizes the first part of the Bildung-process. What we refer to as “horizons of significance” must be possible to criticize and transcend – if Bildung is not to be subverted into reactionism. We will thus explore the concept of alienation (Jaeggi, 2014) as a necessary aspect of an authenticity-based Bildung-theory. Finally, we will discuss the potential that lies in the communitarian aspects of Taylors theory when re-imagining Nordic Bildung. For Taylor (1995, 2016), the development of individual morality is constituted by language communities. The presentation discusses possibilities and pitfalls that lie in understanding authenticity as not only an individual, but also a communitarian Bildung-ideal. Lastly, we will question whether Taylors communitarianism can sufficiently guard against destructive nationalist tendencies in wanting to re-imagine Nordic Bildung.

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