University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Political Science Political Science 2020 FROM HOBBES TO HABERMAS: THE ANTI-CULTURAL TURN IN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT Ralph Gert Schoellhammer University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7011-6696 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.313 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Schoellhammer, Ralph Gert, "FROM HOBBES TO HABERMAS: THE ANTI-CULTURAL TURN IN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT" (2020). Theses and Dissertations--Political Science. 32. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/polysci_etds/32 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Political Science by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Ralph Gert Schoellhammer, Student Dr. Ernest Yanarella, Major Professor Dr. Justin Wedeking, Director of Graduate Studies FROM HOBBES TO HABERMAS: THE ANTI-CULTURAL TURN IN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT ________________________________________ DISSERTATION ________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Ralph Gert Schoellhammer Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Ernest J. Yanarella, Professor of Political Science Lexington, Kentucky 2020 Copyright © Ralph Gert Schoellhammer 2020 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7011-6696 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. KEYWORDS: Modern Political Thought, Social Psychology, Moral Psychology, Culture, Multiculturalism, New Institutionalism Ralph Gert Schoellhammer May 7, 2020 Date FROM HOBBES TO HABERMAS: THE ANTI-CULTURAL TURN IN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT By Ralph Gert Schoellhammer Ernest J. Yanarella Director of Dissertation Justin Wedeking Director of Graduate Studies May 7, 2020 DEDICATION To my Mom and Dad, Senta and Hans-Peter Schöllhammer who never wavered in their emotional support and did not shy away from the financial burden my academic pursuits imposed on them. This would not have been possible without their love and support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following dissertation, while an individual work, benefited from the insights and direction of several people. First, my Dissertation Chair, Dr Ernest Yanarella, who stuck with me through the almost seven years it took me to finally find my voice. Next, I wish to thank the complete Dissertation Committee, and outside reader, respectively: Emily Bacchus, Stephen D. Voss, Horace Bartilow, James Albisetti, and John Butler. I remain deeply grateful to for staying on my committee for this entire journey towards the completion of my dissertation. It would have been completely understandable if at some point any of them would have lost confidence in my ability to finish my PhD, and I am forever grateful that none of them did. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Chapter I: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The Death and Rebirth of Culture ............................................................. 1 1.2 Method and Chapter Outline ................................................................... 20 Chapter II: The Psychology, Biology, and Anthropology of Culture ............................... 24 2.1 The Culture-Psychology Connection ...................................................... 24 2.1.1 Culture as an Emotional Phenomenon .............................................. 29 2.1.1.1 Different Types of Emotions ...................................................... 42 2.1.2 Culture and Morality ......................................................................... 47 2.1.2.1 The Nativism of Morality ........................................................... 48 2.1.2.2 Culture, Psyche, and Morality make each other up.................... 52 2.1.2.3 Moral Intuitions Come First – Strategic Reasoning Second ...... 55 2.1.2.4 The Sacred and How it Binds and Blinds Us ............................. 58 2.1.2.5 Moral Intuitions and Moral Reasoning Affect Us All................ 63 2.1.3 Shared Mental Models ...................................................................... 69 2.2 The Culture-Biology Connection ............................................................ 81 2.2.1 Culture and Evolution ....................................................................... 89 2.2.1.1 The Return of Group Selection .................................................. 97 iv 2.2.1.2 Gene-Culture Coevolution ....................................................... 105 2.2.1.3 A Quick Remark on Meme Theory .......................................... 109 2.3 The Culture-Anthropology Connection ................................................ 112 2.3.1 Culture and Complex Culture ......................................................... 112 2.3.2 Social Evolution or Social Decay? .................................................. 122 2.3.3 Culture and Maladaptation .............................................................. 133 Chapter III: Science, Rationality, and the Turn Against Culture .................................... 143 3.1 What Culture Is – And What It Is Not .................................................. 147 3.2 The Rise of Economics and Rational Choice ........................................ 170 Chapter IV: Culture and the Enlightenment ................................................................... 193 4.1 Avoiding Theoretical Strawmen ........................................................... 210 4.2 From the Enlightenment to Rationalistic Utilitarianism ....................... 214 4.3 Idealism and The Enlightenment........................................................... 229 4.4 The Ancient Greeks, Hobbes and the Birth of Modern Utilitarianism . 241 4.5 Culture and the Utilitarian Worldview .................................................