Bildung and Erfahren

Bildung and Erfahren underly the legal and service philosophy of von Schulz Law Office.

Bildung

The German word "Bildung" is exceedingly difficult to interpret with different translators assigning a different equivalent English word; furthermore, Bildung has changed its meaning and evolved over its usage. Nonetheless, Bildung is the core of legal practice and client service because it encompasses the philosophical concepts of education, culture, and acculturation.

Bildung as "education" relates to the process of transforming initial sensory impressions into abstract knowledge based on science. In this process, individual knowledge becomes shared, and people become a part of society. This process of education collects both individual and shared experiences which individually and collectively move through different levels of abstraction. The less abstract forms of knowledge are themselves incorporated into higher abstraction and are able to be recalled and manipulated with minimal effort.

Bildung as culture and the process of acculturation is at the center of persuasion and the process of forming individual and shared understanding. Through acculturation individuals give up their individuality and cultivate themselves into social life. In effect, only through interactions with others does a person individually understand and appreciate one's self. These acculturating interactions form the basis for individual thought, but they are also integrated with cultural instruments (including language) and are only possible through interactions with others.

Bildung, although a difficult concept, forms the basis for storytelling and for creating shared memories and shared understandings. As a result, von Schulz Law Office looks at all cases from the perspective of Bildung in the form of education and acculturation to and presents individual stories in ways that are most compelling.

Erfahren

Erfahren relates to experience as a journey of discovery. The initial sensory experience of the world is never immediately understood. This initial experience is only a starting point from which knowledge can be developed. This development of knowledge occurs as erfahren. Through this journey, the prior immediate impressions become distant and are questioned resulting in a form of internal and external dialogue. Eventually these questions and dialogue resolve into an understanding and the journey comes to an end. However, the substance of the initial experience is understood in a substantially different manner both individually and as a form of community understanding.

The lesson of erfahren is that all facts and immediate impressions are merely starting points which lack meaning until they are contextualized and interpreted. Consequently, facts obtain their meaning only at the end of a complex and sensitive process of dialogue. Through this dialogue, the distinction between facts based in actuality and interpretation of facts fades away into the formation of meaning separate from any individual.