Conformity, Totalitarian Trends, and Totalitarianism
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Jari Ristiniemi
Abstract
The essay discusses the state of democracy in today’s world, paying attention to conformity, totalitarian trends, and totalitarianism as threats to democracy. One of the main arguments is that conformism and totalitarian trends as such do not yet equal totalitarianism, but conformism and the concentration of power might offer a trajectory bound to totalitarianism. A holistic model is construed both as means of showing what is going on in democracy and as means of finding a cure. The model is inspired by a monistic and holistic turn in the middle of the previous century. Eino Kaila, Arthur Koestler, and Paul Tillich are identified as central figures in that turn. What is common for them is that they anchored thought in life, seeing life as a unity. The article concludes with a discussion of re-establishing the center of personality as a way of counteracting totalitarian tendencies.
Abstract
The essay discusses the state of democracy in today’s world, paying attention to conformity, totalitarian trends, and totalitarianism as threats to democracy. One of the main arguments is that conformism and totalitarian trends as such do not yet equal totalitarianism, but conformism and the concentration of power might offer a trajectory bound to totalitarianism. A holistic model is construed both as means of showing what is going on in democracy and as means of finding a cure. The model is inspired by a monistic and holistic turn in the middle of the previous century. Eino Kaila, Arthur Koestler, and Paul Tillich are identified as central figures in that turn. What is common for them is that they anchored thought in life, seeing life as a unity. The article concludes with a discussion of re-establishing the center of personality as a way of counteracting totalitarian tendencies.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- „Grenze“ und „Grenzsituation“ 1
- Liminalités chiliennes : la pensée tillichienne comme ressource ? 21
- Crisis, Kairos, and Kairotic Moments 37
- Tillich, Pandemic, and Video Games 53
- Conformity, Totalitarian Trends, and Totalitarianism 67
- Hate Speech und die Grenzen der Kommunikation 93
- Paul Tillichs Kairosbegriff und die Krise des westlichen Denkens 117
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Editionen
- Das Dasein Gottes und die Religionspsychologie 141
- Paul Tillich: Das Dasein Gottes und die Religionspsychologie 161
- Die Theologie als Wissenschaft 179
- Paul Tillich: Die Theologie als Wissenschaft 195
- Schelling und die Synthese von Spinoza und Kant 201
- Paul Tillich: German Classical Philosophy: Schelling 225
- Reviews 261
- Tillich Bibliography 303
- Contributors List 313
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- „Grenze“ und „Grenzsituation“ 1
- Liminalités chiliennes : la pensée tillichienne comme ressource ? 21
- Crisis, Kairos, and Kairotic Moments 37
- Tillich, Pandemic, and Video Games 53
- Conformity, Totalitarian Trends, and Totalitarianism 67
- Hate Speech und die Grenzen der Kommunikation 93
- Paul Tillichs Kairosbegriff und die Krise des westlichen Denkens 117
-
Editionen
- Das Dasein Gottes und die Religionspsychologie 141
- Paul Tillich: Das Dasein Gottes und die Religionspsychologie 161
- Die Theologie als Wissenschaft 179
- Paul Tillich: Die Theologie als Wissenschaft 195
- Schelling und die Synthese von Spinoza und Kant 201
- Paul Tillich: German Classical Philosophy: Schelling 225
- Reviews 261
- Tillich Bibliography 303
- Contributors List 313
