Civility Theory

Twelve keywords on

General Civility Theory (GCT)

1. Guiding criterion of civility: Civility is mutual respect in the exercise of shared responsibility.
2. Levels of Civility: Civility exists to varying degrees and with varying levels of security: absent, insecure/low, open, secure, developed.
3. Welfare Function: The higher the prevailing level of civility, the greater the potential for the well-being of all those involved.
4. Variable space: Interaction logics, interaction forms and levels of civility form a variable space in which they influence one another.
5. Social Spacetime: The prevailing level of civility shapes how space and time are perceived. Actors with lower levels of civility tend to think in narrower spatial and temporal terms, while those with higher levels tend to think more broadly in both respects. In this sense, levels of civility create a social spacetime.
6. Human Learning: Whether and how people learn is an open question, but learning can be encouraged. In this sense, human learning—where people learn to see themselves as part of humanity—is a project. With more than eight billion people on Earth and numerous global capabilities and challenges, global coordination is essential for humanity, founded on mutual respect and shared responsibility.
7. Analytical capacity: Civility theory provides a universal framework for analyzing how actors relate to one another.
8. Capacity to forecast and act: Future processes are open in both form and outcome. This means that even confident actors have a chance of success in cases that appear hopeless.
9. Civility Ethics: Civility Theory establishes an ethics of civility based on the guiding principles: Analyze realistically, act responsibly!
10. Civility navigation: Seeking to preserve and/or promote civility as effectively as possible in a complex, changing environment is civility navigation, which brings together orientation, situational analysis and guidance through the metaphor of navigation.
11. Theory Development: Since its first presentation as a theory of civil modernity (2018), the theory of civility has continued to evolve. This development, previously tied to individuals and institutions, should lead to an open process of human learning.
12. Availability: All texts and videos on the Theory of Civility are freely available on the website of Civility gUG, Berlin, and are intended to remain freely available in the future - on as many platforms and in as many media as possible.