Considering the German idea of "Bildung," I argue that it is a central concern of Habermas. First, he criticized the idea of being educated as a sign of innate abilities, emphasizing instead the significance of the social conditions of the upbringing. Subsequently, inspired by Adorno, he performed an analysis of "Bildung," based on critique of ideology, in "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere." The basic critique is that "Bildung" is too tightly connected to societal dominance, but still the ideal holds some truth. His comments on "Bildung" over the subsequent years are sparse. However, in "Knowledge and Human Interest" he works his way out of the framework of philosophy of consciousness, which results in the "Theory of Communicative Action," and with this approach he can discuss "Bildung" in relation to discourse ethics and the role of the university. In this new version, "Bildung" finally becomes crucial to Habermas' political philosophy in "Between Facts and Norms."