Defense and Recognition in the Climate Crisis : How to Communicate About Truths, Facts and Opinions

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Acknowledgement Contents 1 Introduction What Do You Think About Climate Change? What Does a Look into Social Reality Show? What Guides the View into Social Reality? How New Perspectives are Opened Up by Informative Results What Goals are Pursued with This Book How This Book is Structured Part I The Psychological and Socially Conditioned Defence 2 Dynamics, Forms, and Consequences of Defense. An Overview Why it Makes Sense to Differentiate Between the Psychological and the Social Defense Not Wanting to Perceive as Protection and Escape from Crises Why Climate Change Hurts How Injuries Arise—The Biographical Reasons and the Psychological Consequences How Injuries Steer Defense How Disparagement Arises Through Defense Offense, Devaluation and Psychological Defense as a Value Problem Forms of Defence and Internal Contradictions Defense Against Suspicion of Malformations or Unwelcome Demands Defense Due to Non-Understanding and the Expectation of Security 3 Researching Social Reality. An Empirical Study The Basic Concept and the Four Phases The Objective The Occasion and the Background The Selection of Interviewees Trust and the Feedback of the Interview Partners The Scientific Approach and its Requirements The Methods Used and Ethical Attitudes in the Theory-Practice Process The Evaluation of the Data Under the Aspect of the Psychically and Socially Conditioned Defense “Skepticism” as an Attitude and a Rational Motive for Defense Trends That Can be Read from the Evaluation in Terms of Psychological and Social Defense Values, Images of Humanity and Ideas of the Future To the Values To the Future Plans Assessment of Science, Politics, Industry, Journalism and Social Media Why the Analysis of Climate Arguments is Distinguished Between Truths, Facts and Opinions 4 Explanatory Approaches Based on Cognitive Psychology and Psychoanalysis Defending Against Climate Change from the Perspective of Cognitive Psychology The Evolutionarily Psychologically Conditioned Defense Reasons How the Emotional Brain Reacts Motives and Forms of Defense The Time and Uncertainty Factor as a Reason for Non-Action Ignoring Through Silence Climate change as a complex overall problem How the Use of Terms Affects Defense Trust and Mistrust in Facts or Persons Other Main Causes of Communication Problems According to G. Marshall The Psychoanalytical View of the Defense of Climate Change The Unconscious as a Factor—Also in the Climate Debate? Flader’s Approach The Resistance to Accepting the Unconscious. First Excursus Can You Put a Society on the Couch? Second Excursus Beyond the Couch. The Psychoanalytical Approach from Great Britain Why and How Climate Change is Denied. Weintrobe’s Approach Fear as the Engine of Denial The Defense as a Result of Denial and Denial Why Climate Change is Taking Place in a Perverse Culture: The Approach of P. Hoggett, a Contribution in Weintrobe’s Anthology Conclusion. Defense as the Fundamental Problem in Climate Crisis Part II Explain and Understand 5 Explanation and Understanding: The Understanding of Science Preliminary Remark On Which Scientific Thinking is Based and Where it is Aimed How a Scientific Understanding Developed from Philosophical Origins Which Understanding of Science is Useful for What Explaining and Understanding—The Prerequisite For Constructive Communication The Impact of Traditions to This Day Conclusion. Why Thinking About the Origins of Scientific Thinking is Crucial 6 The Terms: Truths, Facts, and Opinions. Hannah Arendt Preliminary Remark The Explosiveness of “Truth and Politics” The History of the Essay Ahrendts Philosophical Perspective on Politics How to Distinguish Between Truths, Facts and Opinions The Truths of Reason (Truths) The Factual Truths (Facts) The Opinions Lying as a Problem in Opinion Formation What Can and Cannot be Lied About Lies in Climate Communication Standards for Opinion-Forming Information Freedom of Opinion as a High Good of Democracy Conclusion. Thinking and Reflection as an Benchmark ... Part III The Philosophically Defined Recognition 7 What are Truths? The Location of the Truth Concept in Science Hegel’s “Phenomenology of Spirit”—the Search For Truth as an Original Process The Historical Context and the Current Relevance of Hegel’s Concept of Truth What Hegel Understands by “Truth” How Individuals Think About Truths Today. The Interviews The Steps on the Way to Recognition The First Step: The Sensuous Certainty as an Aspect of Consciousness Sensuous Certainties in the Climate Question? The Second Step: The Perception of the True in Space and Time The Third Step: Force and Understanding to Grasp the General as Concrete Through Concepts “Force”, “Reason”—Further Terms in Relation to the Climate Crisis The Fourth Step: Self-Consciousness and the Search for Truth Self-Consciousness and Finding Truth in the Climate Issue The Process of Recognition The Two Aspects of Consciousness: Master and Servant Striving For Autonomy and Feelings of Powerlessness in Climate Discourse The Limitations of the Two Aspects of Self-Consciousness Consciousness in Dealing With the Climate Crisis The Fight For Life and Death The “Struggle For Life and Death” in the Climate Crisis The Necessity of Recognizing the Two Aspects of Self-Consciousness Why Stoicism and Skepticism are Aspects of “Unhappy Consciousness” That Make Recognition Impossible Stoicism as an Obstacle on the Way to Recognition Skepticism—Another Obstacle on the Way to Recognition The Effects of the “Unhappy Consciousness” For Recognition and Recognition Conclusion. How Acknowledgement and Overcoming of Unhappy Consciousness Leads to Truths and is Itself a Truth 8 What are Facts? Why Ikäheimo’s Approach is Relevant What is Meant by Facts and What Problems Arise in Dealing with Them What Does Recognition Mean According to Heikki Ikäheimo? The Relevance of Ikäheimo’s Approach Distinctions, Forms and Interpersonal Aspects of Recognition The Differentiation of the Concept of Recognition from Different Perspectives The Different, Interrelated Aspects of Attitudes The Socio-Caused Influences The Normative and Constitutive Aspects Love, Respect, Esteem and Appreciation—in the Climate Crisis? The Relativity and the Universality of Recognition Theories The Context in which Recognition Theories Arise Why Recognition Theories are Relative The Generally Possible Orientation Aspects and Expressions of Recognition To What Extent are Human Abilities Limited? Conclusion. Recognition as an Act of Reality and Fact Acceptance 9 What do Opinions Mean? Opinions as Relevant as Problematic Statement Form Opinions on Climate and the Relevance of Ricoeur’s Theory of Recognition What Terms and Words can Mean Why Knowledge of the Diversity of Meanings is Crucial for Explaining and Understanding What Reconnaitre Means and How We Find These Meanings in the Interview Statements “Reconnaissance” as Identifying from Philosophical Perspectives The Initiatives of Interpretation How to Distinguish the True From the False: Ricoeur in Relation to Descartes Distinguish and Connect—Ricoeur in Relation to Kant What Happens if Something is not Recognized or Recognized Again Self-Consciousness as an Aspect of Self-Recognition Recognizing Oneself Recognizing One’s Own Limitations The Conscious Decision as an Escape Recognition on the Basis of Virtues The Capable Subject Recognition in Social Reality Doing the Right Thing—Criterion for and Form of Recognition How Do I Know What is True and What is False? Conclusion. How Different Meanings of Recognition Become Visible in Opinions 10 What Values Mean in the Process of Recognition How values and Recognition are Related and the Relevance of Honneth’s Investigation Why a History of Ideas of Recognition is Enlightening How Recognition Can be Historically Reconstructed—Methodological Aspects of the Problem How Recognition was Understood and Sought After in France, England and Germany in the Eighteenth Century France: “amour propre” as a Problem. The Negative Connotation of Recognition The Lines of Thought of a Recognition Criticism The Quest for Recognition as an Act of Self-Deception The Possible Relevance of this Criticism and the Criticism of the Criticism The Suffering of Today’s Own “ratings”. An Excursion England: How Recognition and Self-Control are Related—The Recognition Ideas in the Eighteenth Century in England The Historically-Economic Conditions Instead of “amour propre”—“sympathy”: The English Basic Idea of Recognition How Far Does “sympathy” Go? And What Prevents People from Bringing It Up? A Digression Where to Get the Standards to Act Objectively and Appropriately—As an Act of Recognition? Adam Smith Finds an Answer The Belief in the Potential of Humans—John Stuart Mill The Relevance and Limits of Liberal Thinking From Today’s Perspective Germany: How Respect is Defined by Reason. Kant, Fichte and Hegel’s Concepts of Recognition in the Fragmented Holy Roman Empire The Socio-Political Background How Respect Arises Through Reason Reason in Times of Crisis? Don’t Stop at Kant. Think Further with Fichte and Hegel and Critically Illuminate them for Today Conclusion. Which Values Play a Role in the Process of Recognition Part IV Proposals 11 Suggestions for Dealing with Defense. To Part I The Insight: Recognizing Defense as a Psychological and Social Factor The Realization: How Interest and Respect Can Work Solution Suggestions: Meta-Level Through Observation and Moderation 12 Suggestions for Methods and Terms in the Humanities. To Part II The Methods The Insight: Why Methods Determine the Results The Finding: Explain and Understand The Solutions: Perceive, Question, Data Collection and Interpret The Terms The Insight: Terms Are Not Arbitrary and Ambiguous The Recognition: The Justification of Terms as a Scientific Challenge The Solution Proposals: Asking What It is all About 13 Suggestions for Dealing with Recognition. To Part III Hegel’s Relevance for the Recognition of Truths Insights: How Images of People and the World Influence the Process of Recognition The recognition: Truth as a category of recognition and acknowledgement The Solution Proposals: Reflecting, Thinking and Pre-Thinking as Aspects of Recognition Ikäheimo’s Relevance for the Recognition of Facts The Insight: Recognition as a Fact-Based Act The Recognition: Facts as a Reference Field for Human Communication The Solution Proposals: Standards and Rules for Communication About Facts Ricoeur’s Relevance for the Recognition of Opinions Insights: The Diversity of Meanings of Recognition Reflected in Opinions The Recognition: Why Meaning Analyses of Opinions in Climate Communication are Important The Solution Proposals: Reflecting on Concepts and Opinion Research and the Interpretation of Meanings What is Behind Terms? And What Do They Trigger? Opinion Polls and Working with Terms Honneth’s Relevance for Recognition in the Context of Values Insights: Values Arise in a Socio-Cultural Context and Influence the Process and Content of Recognition The Recognition: Recognition Requires Values The Solution Proposal: Value Research—Also in the Climate Question—Is Still Outstanding 14 Afterword Defense and Recognition—a Basic Pattern Consciousness as a Way Out of Crisis 15 Maxims The Change of Consciousness Twelve Ideas for Communicating about Climate Change Literatur Truths, facts and opinions on the climate issue are often met with psychological or social defense, both publicly and privately. Based on selected psychological and philosophical theories as well as data material, this book shows how defense comes about, how it works, and how, on the other hand, the necessary recognition can succeed on various levels. It is only through recognition that constructive discourse becomes possible. This book offers all the basics to be able to theoretically and practically solve communication conflicts between defense and recognition in the climate crisis. The author Dr. Barbara Strohschein is a philosopher and psychologist working in research and consulting. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content