Civility theory (overview)

Summary

1. General concepts, typologies and models of civility are the content of the General Theory of Civility (AZT 2026), while specific areas of society such as law, state, politics and economy, as well as specific forms of action, such as public action and corruption, are the content of specific theories of civility (BZT 2026).
2. Civility is defined as mutual respect within a shared responsibility. It can exist to varying degrees, as a lack of civility, a low level of civility, an overt level of civility, a secure level of civility, or a fully developed civility.
3. Civility promotes the common good: the higher the prevailing level of civility, the better the chances for a peaceful and free coexistence in prosperity for all involved.
4. Different levels and changes in civility can be explained by how those involved think and act under given conditions. Therefore, respective levels of civility correspond to characteristic ways of thinking and acting. These influence each other, which can lead to the consolidation, but also to changes, of civility levels.
5. Actors with fundamental civic values strive to act in a way that promotes civility. In doing so, they adapt to the given situation – thus behaving realistically and with a sense of responsibility.
6. All thought and action between actors can be understood in a logically and empirically verifiable way from a civil-theoretical perspective. Thus, the general civil-theoretical theory (AZT 2026) and the specific civil-theoretical theories (BZT 2026) possess particularly high empirical explanatory power – a potential basis for direct and AI-mediated analysis.
7. Civility theory developed from classical theories, but distinguishes itself from them through its greater generality and precision. Anyone who confuses this theory with statements by Norbert Elias, Jürgen Habermas, or John Locke has either not understood it or has not read it.
8. Civility theory is freely accessible with a single click via the provided buttons. Furthermore, there are videos on individual concepts and discussion forums for all subfields and statements within civility theory.