Civility, Enlightenment, and Society: Conceptual Confusions and Kantian Remedies

Abstract

Critics of what is called the “Enlightenment project” have argued that it has been responsible for a number of current social pathologies. At the same time, the term “civil society” has been used to designate those patterns of solidarity that the Enlightenment project allegedly disrupts. This article (1) argues that characterizations of the Enlightenment project tend to be elusive and historically questionable, (2) suggests that the concept of civil society is ambiguous in both its object and its intent, (3) explores how Kant provided a more rigorous account of the relationship between enlightenment and civil society, an account which rests on a contrast between civil and cosmopolitan society, and (4) considers some of the difficulties that plague attempts to define “civility” as a virtue.

Democracy online: civility, politeness, and the democratic potential of online political discussion groups

“…Preoccupation with civil discourse can be traced to the writings of Aristotle, who coined the term 'civil society' to reflect a form of political association referred to as 'state' or 'polis' (Schmidt, 1998). Closely related to citizenship and civilization, civility is also derivative of the Latin civis (citizen) and civitas (city), which are themselves the Latin equivalents of the Greek family of words stemming from polis (city) (Kesler, 1992).…”

“…Conceptualizations of civility were distinctly influenced by Aristotle's teachings up until the 18th century, when civility was revisited as a result of changes in the economic and civic sphere. On the one hand, Hegel's and Tocqueville's conceptions of civil society tended to separate it from the state, family, or religion, and consequently, the conceptualization of civility was altered (Schmidt, 1998). On the other hand, Kant viewed civil society as the locale where contestation between the public and private realm takes place (Schmidt, 1998).…”

Incivility on Diaoyu Island sovereignty in Tianya Club

“…The term civility is originated from 'civil society', a concept that can be traced back to Aristotle (Schmidt, 1998) and rests on the idea of 'public sphere' and the expression of 'public opinion'. 'Civil society' was originated from Hobbes' 'freedom of opinion' to Locke's 'educated opinion', and finally formed into Kant's 'rational communication via public sphere' (Papacharissi 2004, p.264).…”

Liberalism and enlightenment in eighteenth‐century Germany

“…There are too many different tendencies within the various efforts at enlightenment in late eighteenth-century Europe to inspire much confidence in generalizations about them. Indeed, sometimes it appears that the only commentators confident in making generalizations about what "the Enlightenment" stood for are those who are in the process of dismissing it (see Schmidt 1998). The same may well be true of liberalism.…”