From hobbes to habermas: the anti-cultural turn in western political thought

TLDR: The anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes is discussed in this paper. But it is the emotional part of the human psyche that enables us to create family like bonds based on culture.

Abstract: OF DISSERTATION FROM HOBBES TO HABERMAS: THE ANTI-CULTURAL TURN IN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT The theme of this dissertation is the anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes. The Hobbesian worldview makes the case that human sociability and ultimately culture are the main drivers of conflict, and that the prescriptions of any political philosophy should aim to replace sociability with individuality. Beginning with an overview of psychological research into the phenomenon of culture I put forward the argument that human beings are by nature social and individualistic, but that they oscillate between their ability to put group-interests before individual interests and vice versa. Culture is the main mechanism that influences which interest we give priority. This mechanism work through emotional attachments that create intuitions about what is morally right and wrong, thereby influencing final behavioral outcomes. The Enlightenment and Thomas Hobbes viewed these emotional attachments as an insufficient or dangerous fundament for social action, leading to a philosophical approach that put rational individualism at the center of its moral matrix, diminishing the importance of the emotional attachments created by culture. These attachments are crucial for the emergence of communities and the ability to engage in collective action. Contrary to the idea of a community formation driven purely by rationality, I propose that it is the emotional part of the human psyche that enables us to create family like bonds based onb culture. In my dissertation I investigate the consequences of this reductionist view on culture, and what it can mean for societies and institutions.