This essay is concerned with the central issue of philosophical anthropology: the relation between nature and culture. Although Rousseau was the first thinker to introduce this topic within the modern discourse of philosophy and the cultural sciences, it has its origin in Diogenes the Cynic, who was a disciple of Socrates. In my essay I (1) historically introduce a few aspects of philosophical anthropology, (2) deal with the nature–culture exchange, as introduced in Kant, then I (3) relate this topic to (...) the Ancient Cynic Diogenes. Surprisingly, although we usually identify Critical Theory and Freudian psychoanalysis as theories that have shown that cultural progress should not be comprehended as a development from nature to culture, and that instead it should be conceived as a development from culture against (external as well as internal) nature, I show that Cynicism can be conceived as a vivid example within the history of our culture that reveals a double sense of repression and alienation, which is part of human civilization and mankind. (shrink)

Can a phenomenologically-founded sociology contribute to the understanding of social change? By reference to the structure of the lifeworld as it has been analyzed by Husserl and Schutz, I argue that human action is formed by temporal, spatial, and social dimensions. These are objectified by a social semantics through which they gain their intersubjective cultural shape. From this perspective, I investigate changes in the temporal, spatial, and social dimensions of this semantics, as they occur in the present transformation of post-socialist (...) societies. Finally, I consider whether these changes mark a return to Western patterns and whether they confirm the thesis of the end of history. (shrink)

Der Beitrag diskutiert Arnold Gehlens Figur des Mängelwesens und vollzieht dessen anthropologische Annahmen anhand zentraler Rezeptionslinien nach: An Gehlens Modell entzünden sich zahlreiche Debatten, die von einer Replik des nationalsozialistischen Pädagogen Ernst Krieck über verhaltens- und evolutionsbiologische Korrekturen bis hin zur Kritik und entschiedenen Ablehnung des Werkes reichen. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt wird dabei auf die Rezeption durch Theodor W. Adorno und Jürgen Habermas als zentrale Protagonisten der Kritischen Theorie gelegt. Schließlich soll vor diesem Hintergrund Gehlens Werk in den Kanon der (...) Neuen Rechten, denen er mittlerweile als Vordenker gilt, eingeordnet werden. (shrink)

In times of digitalization and globalization, social expectations change at an increasing pace. In order to provide orientation in times of frequent change, this article argues to reinforce the meaning of moral principles, norms, or values as focal points, which build the basis of mutually aligned behavioral expectations. Accordingly, the paper explains the abstract meaning of focal points – having reciprocal expectations as foundation for social cooperation – as well as the particular relevance of the focal point ‘do no harm’.