Joshua Folkerts

Joshua Folkerts (Stand: April 2022)

Forschungsinteressen

Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte

Demokratietheorie

Sozialstaatstheorie

Deutungsmachttheorie

Mythentheorie

Politische Theorie Hegels

Publikationen

Artikel in Fachzeitschriften

Lorenz von Stein und Hermann Heller als Ahnherren des deutschen Sozialstaats. Soziales Königtum und sozialer Rechtsstaat im Dienste der Freiheit, in: Der Staat. Zeitschrift für Staatslehre und Verfassungsgeschichte, deutsches und europäisches öffentliches Recht 60: 3, 2021, S. 433–454. (Link)

Zur Theorie der Deutungsmacht. Eine ideengeschichtliche Erkundung in klassischen und modernen Machttheorien, in: Zeitschrift für Politische Theorie 10: 2, 2020, S. 211–232 (peer-reviewed). (Link)

Der Diskurs des Englischen Bürgerkriegs als Konflikt um Deutungsmacht. Die Rolle des politischen Mythos in den Schriften der Levellers und Robert Filmers, in: Leviathan. Berliner Zeitschrift für Sozialwissenschaft 47: 3, 2019, S. 354–374 (peer-reviewed). (Link)

Zur Ideengeschichte einer ungeschichtlichen Theorie. John Rawls’ Theorie der Gerechtigkeit im diskursiven Kontext der Geschichte, in: Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 105: 1, 2019, S. 68–87 (peer-reviewed). (Link)

Sammelbandbeiträge

Eine mythentheoretische Betrachtung des Narrativs der Evolutionären Psychologie im Kontext der Spätmoderne, in: Lutz-Auras, Ludmila/Rudolf, Dennis (Hrsg.): „Nun sag‘, wie hast du’s mit dem Politischen?“ Glaubensformen im Widerstreit spätmoderner Gesellschaften (zur Publikation angenommen, im Erscheinen).

Relevanz um jeden Preis? Probleme und Perspektiven politikwissenschaftlicher Deutungsmacht am Beispiel der Extremismustheorie (mit Ronny Rohde), in: Bergem, Wolfgang/Schöne, Helmar (Hrsg.): Wie relevant ist die Politikwissenschaft? (zur Publikation angenommen, im Erscheinen).

Über Ursachen und Folgen des Streits. Die Rolle von Überzeugungssystemen in Auseinandersetzungen (mit Tobias Götze), in: Kumlehn, Martina/Wodianka, Stephanie (Hrsg.): Kulturen des Streits. Deutungsmachtkonflikte zwischen Konsens und Zerwürfnis (zur Publikation angenommen, im Erscheinen).

Sonstiges

Rezension: Jason Brennan: Gegen Demokratie. Warum wir die Politik nicht den Unvernünftigen überlassen dürfen, in: Zeitschrift für Politik 65: 4, 2018, S. 471–474. (Link)

Lehre und Vorträge

Lehre

SoSe 2021: Seminar „Hegels politische Philosophie in den Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts“, Philosophie, Universität Rostock

WiSe 2020/21: Seminar „Klimawandel, Umweltbewegung und ziviler Ungehorsam“, Politikwissenschaft (B.A.), Universität Rostock

SoSe 2020: Seminar „Deutungen der Demokratie. Demokratietheorie im historischen Kontext ihrer Zeit und die Frage nach der Anwendbarkeit auf heutige Probleme“, Politikwissenschaft (B.A.), Universität Rostock

SoSe 2018: Seminar „Demokratietheorie und Demokratiekritik. Vom antiken Griechenland bis zu Crouchs Postdemokratie“, Politikwissenschaft (B.A.), Universität Rostock

SoSe 2018: Vertretung der Vorlesung „Glaube und Politik I“ von Prof. Yves Bizeul zum Thema politischer Mythos (28.06.2018), Universität Rostock

Vorträge

Chair auf dem Symposium „Subversive Semantics in Political and Cultural Discourse“ (14.11.2020), Graduiertenkolleg Deutungsmacht, Universität Rostock, Online-Konferenz

Zur politischen Theorie von zivilem Ungehorsam und Klimawandel. Einige Überlegungen aus den Sozial- und Geisteswissenschaften (24.10.2020), Klimacamp Rostock

Interpretations of social questions through time: Epistemological and normative implications for state welfare, Second Amsterdam Graduate Conference in Political Theory (29.05.2020), Online-Konferenz

Probleme und Perspektiven politikwissenschaftlicher Deutungsmacht am Beispiel der Extremismustheorie (mit Ronny Rohde), Thementagung der DVPW: „Wie relevant ist die Politikwissenschaft? Wissenstransfer und gesellschaftliche Wirkung von Forschung und Lehre“ (13.12.2019), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

„Gar nichts muss ich!“ Zur philosophischen Legitimation von Klimastreiks (mit Linda Stiehm), Klimawoche der Universität Rostock (25.11.2019)

„Gar nichts muss ich!“ Über die Legitimität, sich nicht an den Gesellschaftsvertrag zu halten oder: Warum der Staat die Pflicht hat, attraktiv zu sein (mit Linda Stiehm), VII. Tagung für Praktische Philosophie (26.09.2019), Universität Salzburg

Wie viel Skepsis braucht die Streitkultur? Chancen und Grenzen des Zweifels (mit Tobias Götze), Seminar auf dem Nachwuchsforum „Streitkulturen. Deutungsmachtkonflikte zwischen Konsens und Zerwürfnis“ des Graduiertenkollegs „Deutungsmacht“ (11.09.2019), Universität Rostock

The Father of the Leviathan. Perspectives on Thomas Hobbes’ Political Theory Through Time: from Monarchist to Totalitarian to Harbinger of Liberalism, Konferenz „Villains! Constructing Narratives of Evil“ des International Graduate Center for the Study of the Culture (08.02.2019), Justus Liebig Universität Gießen

Curriculum Vitae

Seit November 2018 Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am DFG-Graduiertenkolleg Deutungsmacht

SoSe 2021 Lehrbeauftragter am Institut für Philosophie, Universität Rostock

SoSe 2020 und WiSe 2021 Lehrbeauftragter am Institut für Politik- und Verwaltungswissenschaften, Universität Rostock

SoSe 2018 Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Lehrstuhl für Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte, Institut für Politik- und Verwaltungswissenschaften, Universität Rostock

SoSe 2016 und 2017 Tutor für Politische Theorie am Institut für Politische Wissenschaft, Universität Heidelberg

2015–2017 Studium der Politischen Wissenschaft und Geschichte (Master) an der Universität Heidelberg

WiSe 2016/17 Erasmus-Auslandsaufenthalt an der Aarhus Universitet Dänemark

2011–2015 Studium der Politischen Wissenschaft und Geschichte (Bachelor) an der Universität Heidelberg

English Version

Fields of Research

Political Theory and History of Ideas

Welfare State Theory

Power of Interpretation

Myth Theory

Hegel’s Political Theory

Publications

Articles in Scientific Journals

Lorenz von Stein und Hermann Heller als Ahnherren des deutschen Sozialstaats. Soziales Königtum und sozialer Rechtsstaat im Dienste der Freiheit, in: Der Staat. Zeitschrift für Staatslehre und Verfassungsgeschichte, deutsches und europäisches öffentliches Recht 60: 3, 2021, S. 433–454.

Lorenz von Stein and Hermann Heller as Forefathers of the German Welfare State. Social Monarchy and Social Constitutional State in Service of Liberty, in: The State. Journal of State Theory and Constitutional History, German and European Public Law 60: 3, 2021, pp. 433–454.

Zur Theorie der Deutungsmacht. Eine ideengeschichtliche Erkundung in klassischen und modernen Machttheorien, in: Zeitschrift für Politische Theorie 10: 2, 2020, S. 211–232 (peer-reviewed).

On the Theory of Power of Interpretation. An Investigation into Classical and Modern Theories of Power in the History of Ideas, in: German Journal of Political Theory 10: 2, 2020, pp. 211–232 (peer-reviewed).

Der Diskurs des Englischen Bürgerkriegs als Konflikt um Deutungsmacht. Die Rolle des politischen Mythos in den Schriften der Levellers und Robert Filmers, in: Leviathan. Berliner Zeitschrift für Sozialwissenschaft 47: 3, 2019, S. 354–374 (peer-reviewed).

The Discourse of the English Civil War as a Conflict over Interpretative Power. The Role of Political Myth in the Writings of the Levellers and Robert Filmer, in: Leviathan. Berlin Journal of Social Science 47: 3, 2019, pp. 354–374 (peer-reviewed).

Zur Ideengeschichte einer ungeschichtlichen Theorie. John Rawls’ Theorie der Gerechtigkeit im diskursiven Kontext der Geschichte, in: Archiv für Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie 105: 1, 2019, S. 68–87 (peer-reviewed).

On the Intellectual History of an Ahistorical Theory. John Rawls’ Theory of Justice in the Discursive Context of History, in: Archives for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy 105: 1, 2019, pp. 68–87 (peer-reviewed).

Articles in Edited Volumes

Eine mythentheoretische Betrachtung des Narrativs der Evolutionären Psychologie im Kontext der Spätmoderne, in: Lutz-Auras, Ludmila/Rudolf, Dennis (Hrsg.): „Nun sag‘, wie hast du’s mit dem Politischen?“ Glaubensformen im Widerstreit spätmoderner Gesellschaften (im Erscheinen).

The Narrative of Evolutionary Psychology in the Context of Late Modernity. A Consideration from the Perspective of Myth Theory, in: Lutz-Auras, Ludmila/Rudolf, Dennis (Eds.): „Pray Tell, What is Your Way About the Political?“ Ways of Belief in Late Modern Society‘s Conflict (forthcoming).

Relevanz um jeden Preis? Probleme und Perspektiven politikwissenschaftlicher Deutungsmacht am Beispiel der Extremismustheorie (mit Ronny Rohde), in: Bergem, Wolfgang/Schöne, Helmar (Hrsg.): Wie relevant ist die Politikwissenschaft? (im Erscheinen).

Relevance at All Cost? Problems and Perspectives of Political Science’s Power of Interpretation Exemplified by the Theory of Extremism (with Ronny Rohde)in: Bergem, Wolfgang/Schöne, Helmar (Eds.): How Relevant is Political Science? (forthcoming).

Über Ursachen und Folgen des Streits. Die Rolle von Überzeugungssystemen in Auseinandersetzungen (mit Tobias Götze), in: Kumlehn, Martina/Wodianka, Stephanie (Hrsg.): Kulturen des Streits. Deutungsmachtkonflikte zwischen Konsens und Zerwürfnis (im Erscheinen).

On Causes and Consequences of Controversy. The Significance of Belief Systems in Conflicts (with Tobias Götze), in: Kumlehn, Martina/Wodianka, Stephanie (Eds.): Cultures of Controversy. Hegemonic Conflicts Between Consensus and Discord (forthcoming).

Miscellaneous

Rezension: Jason Brennan: Gegen Demokratie. Warum wir die Politik nicht den Unvernünftigen überlassen dürfen, in: Zeitschrift für Politik 65: 4, 2018, S. 471–474.

Review: Jason Brennan: Against Democracy, in: German Journal of Politics 65: 4, 2018, pp. 471–474.

Courses Taught

SoSe 2021: Seminar „Hegels politische Philosophie in den Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts“, Philosophie, Universität Rostock

Hegel’s Political Philosophy in the Elements of the Philosophy of Right, Philosophy, Rostock University

WiSe 2020/21: Seminar „Klimawandel, Umweltbewegung und ziviler Ungehorsam“, Politikwissenschaft (B.A.), Universität Rostock

Climate Change, Ecological Movement, and Civil Disobedience, Political Science, Rostock University

SoSe 2020: Seminar „Deutungen der Demokratie. Demokratietheorie im historischen Kontext ihrer Zeit und die Frage nach der Anwendbarkeit auf heutige Probleme“, Politikwissenschaft (B.A.), Universität Rostock

Democratic Theory in Historical Context and the Question of Applicability to Today’s Problems, Political Science, Rostock University

SoSe 2018: Seminar „Demokratietheorie und Demokratiekritik. Vom antiken Griechenland bis zu Crouchs Postdemokratie“, Politikwissenschaft (B.A.), Universität Rostock

Democratic Theory and Critiques of Democracy. From Ancient Greece to Crouch’s Post-Democracy, Political Science, Rostock University

Scientific and Conference Talks

Chair at the Symposium “Subversive Semantics in Political and Cultural Discourse“ (11/2020), DFG-Graduate College “Hermeneutic Hegemony and Hermeneutic Conflict in the Context of Religions and Belief Systems”, Rostock University, Online Conference.

Zur politischen Theorie von zivilem Ungehorsam und Klimawandel. Einige Überlegungen aus den Sozial- und Geisteswissenschaften (24.10. 2020), Klimacamp Rostock.

On the Political Theory of Civil Disobedience and Climate Change. Some Considerations from Social Sciences and Humanities (10/2020), Climate Camp, Rostock.

Interpretations of social questions through time: Epistemological and normative implications for state welfare, Second Amsterdam Graduate Conference in Political Theory (05/2020), Online Conference.

Probleme und Perspektiven politikwissenschaftlicher Deutungsmacht am Beispiel der Extremismustheorie (mit Ronny Rohde), Thementagung der DVPW: „Wie relevant ist die Politikwissenschaft? Wissenstransfer und gesellschaftliche Wirkung von Forschung und Lehre“ (13.12.2019), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main.

Problems and Perspectives of Political Science’s Power of Interpretation Exemplified by the Theory of Extremism (with Ronny Rohde), Conference of the German Association of Political Science: “How Relevant is Political Science? Knowledge Transfer and Social Impact of Research and Teaching” (12/2019), Goethe University Frankfurt.

„Gar nichts muss ich!“ Zur philosophischen Legitimation von Klimastreiks (mit Linda Stiehm), Klimawoche der Universität Rostock (25.11.2019).

“I Don’t Have to Do Anything!” On the Philosophical Legitimation of Climate Strike (with Linda Stiehm), Climate Week of Rostock University (11/2019).

„Gar nichts muss ich!“ Über die Legitimität, sich nicht an den Gesellschaftsvertrag zu halten oder: Warum der Staat die Pflicht hat, attraktiv zu sein (mit Linda Stiehm), VII. Tagung für Praktische Philosophie (26.09.2019), Universität Salzburg.

“I Don’t Have to Do Anything!” On the Legitimacy of Not Adhering to the Social Contract or: Why the State Has the Duty to be Attractive (with Linda Stiehm), VII. Conference of Practical Philosophy (09/2019), Salzburg University.

Wie viel Skepsis braucht die Streitkultur? Chancen und Grenzen des Zweifels (mit Tobias Götze), Seminar auf dem Nachwuchsforum „Streitkulturen. Deutungsmachtkonflikte zwischen Konsens und Zerwürfnis“ des Graduiertenkollegs „Deutungsmacht“ (11.09.2019), Universität Rostock.

How Much Skepticism Does a Culture of Controversy Need? Chances and Limits of Doubt (with Tobias Götze), Seminar at the Forum for Young Academics “Cultures of Controversy. Hegemonic Conflicts Between Consensus and Discord”, DFG-Graduate College “Hermeneutic Hegemony and Hermeneutic Conflict in the Context of Religions and Belief Systems” (09/2019), Rostock University.

The Father of the Leviathan. Perspectives on Thomas Hobbes’ Political Theory Through Time: from Monarchist to Totalitarian to Harbinger of Liberalism, Conference “Villains! Constructing Narratives of Evil” of the International Graduate Center for the Study of the Culture (02/2019), Justus Liebig University Gießen.

Curriculum Vitae

Since November 2018 Research Fellow (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter), DFG-Graduate College “Hermeneutic Hegemony and Hermeneutic Conflict in the Context of Religions and Belief Systems”, Rostock University

SoSe 2021 Lecturer of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy, Rostock University

SoSe 2020 and WiSe 2021 Lecturer of Political Science, Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences, Rostock University

SoSe 2018 Research Associate (Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter), Chair of Political Theory and History of Ideas, Institute of Political and Administrative Sciences, Rostock University

SoSe 2016 and 2017 Tutor of Political Theory, Institute of Political Science, Heidelberg University

2015–2017 MA in Political Science and History, Heidelberg University

WiSe 2016/17 Semester Abroad at Aarhus University, Denmark

2011–2015 BA in Political Science and History, Heidelberg University

Hegel's Reinterpretation of the Modern Liberal Belief System as a Contribution to the History of Ideas of the Welfare State

The research on Hegel’s contribution to the social question has mainly been focused on his treatment of poverty and the rabble. In the literature we may identify two broad strands. Adherents of the first claim that Hegel may correctly point out the social problems emerging as a result of rising capitalism and industrialization but is unable to solve them in his political theory. The second strand denies this and proposes ways how the problems can be solved e.g. via the societal organizations of polizey and corporations or by the intervention of the state. Both share two notable weaknesses: They are too unhistorical and too unsystematic. The dissertation seeks to contribute to the Hegel research by tending to these weaknesses.

Firstly, it asks how Hegel’s political theory contributes to the development of a concept of welfare statism against the historical background of his time. Rising capitalism and industrialization exacerbated existing social problems and generalized the risk of poverty to a degree that could not be managed by the private charity and disciplinary measures predominant in the early modern period. At the same time, the Prussian state was reshaped as a rational modern state by liberal reform ministers like Karl August von Hardenberg and Karl vom Stein zum Altenstein. After the French Revolution of 1789 and the Napoleonic Era they sought to establish a new basis of state legitimacy that drew its support from the rational organization and modernization of society. Hegel, a lifelong admirer of the revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity, took these ideas as a starting point for his realist conception of the state that could not spring from any utopian wishes but had to be grounded in the existing institutions whose core principles had to be realized. Neglecting this historical and discursive background renders it difficult to understand the basis of Hegel’s political theory.

Secondly, the dissertation asks how Hegel reinterprets main principles of the hegemonial liberal thinking in the early modern period and thus introduces welfare ideas. As with many political phenomena, the treatment of social problems fundamentally depends on their interpretations. Whether a certain societal condition is seen as constituting a social problem, whether a specific group is judged as deserving of help, and whether the state is deemed to be responsible for the alleviation of the condition hinges on how these entities are interpreted. These interpretations are by no means just arbitrary constructions that can be deliberately changed. The theory of interpretative power (Deutungsmacht) claims that interpretations function as a ‘soft’ form of power that modally influences the actions of humans, predefining epistemic and normative interpretations that constitute a space of existing options for thinking, perceiving and acting. The ideas conveyed by them, in a Weberian sense, lay the ‘tracks’ in which actions seem possible or impossible. They influence which beliefs and issues dominate the discourse, which values and goals are relevant and what can legitimately be discussed at all, as well as the categories and concepts that can be utilized. They act as an enabler or inhibitor by putting certain options into the realm of perception in the first place. As a consequence, (socio-)political awareness and action depends on the interpretation of social problems. The ideology of liberalism that emerged in the early modern period rested on the rational administration of the poor and interpreted social problems as individual inadequacies of indolence. Therefore, poverty was seen as a logical result of a lack of personal industriousness. At the centre of this ideology lays the right to individually appropriated property that is thus inviolable by external intervention. Hegel shows that the problems of poverty and inequality in his time are the result of rising capitalism and a crisis of the liberal ideology, posing a danger to the very principles of freedom due to the consequential fissuring of society. Situating himself inside the hegemonic liberalism, he criticizes it from within by employing a strategy of reinterpretation. He is thus able to challenge liberalism and simultaneously change it by shifting the meaning of its core beliefs. In doing this, Hegel laid the ideational foundation of what would later become the theory of welfare statism.

Thirdly, the dissertation constructs a theory of Hegelian welfare statism on the basis of his Philosophy of Right. Thereby, it not only considers the concrete welfare institutions specified by Hegel but also systematically integrates the more general ideas and concepts of property, recognition, and self-realization found in his political theory and maps out their implication for Hegelian welfare statism. Property in a Hegelian sense is not only a means to acquiring material wealth but also tightly interlinked with the condition of the possibility of mutual recognition. Humans can only be truly free persons when they receive the acknowledgment from peers that they rightfully objectified their freedom in property. Therefore, property serves an important social purpose that has to be taken into account when formulating a theory of welfare statism. Although Hegel does not appear to be a thinker of economic justice, valuing freedom over justice, it is precisely this link between property, recognition, and freedom that, in the political sphere, constitutes a minimum level of property. The (welfare) state as the realization of concrete freedom would have to guarantee this minimum necessary for personhood as the existence of unfree citizens directly pertains to the very legitimation of the state. Hegel’s approach is interesting because it avoids the pitfalls of either overestimating property and thus ignoring the relevance of individual dignity and appreciation or reducing problems of economic inequality to problems of recognition.

In summary, this dissertation seeks to propose answers to the following questions and thus contributes to the fields specified below:

1. How does Hegel’s political theory contribute to the social question and welfare statism?

(Contribution to the research on Hegel’s welfare statism and treatment of social problems)

a) What are the main ideas and concepts we can identify in his political theory that allow an interpretation of social problems and their solution with regard to sociopolitical principles, institutions, and measures as well as the overall conception of the (welfare) state?

b) How would a Hegelian theory of welfare statism look like that stays true to the historical context and allows the application to research in the history of ideas of the welfare state?

2. How did Hegel reinterpret the modern liberal paradigm and thus introduce welfare ideas?

(Contribution to the history of ideas of liberalism and welfare statism)

a) Which paradigms of treating social problems held a hegemonic position prior to Hegel’s time and what consequences did they entail?

b) What are the main principles and concepts of the liberal paradigm dominant in the early modern period?

c) Which principles and concepts did Hegel reinterpret and how could he thus introduce welfare ideas to the liberal paradigm?

3. How did Hegel’s theory of the (welfare) state influence subsequent thinkers and social policies?

(Contribution to the history of ideas of the welfare state and German sociopolitical history)

a) Which ideas and concepts did major thinker of German welfare statism Lorenz von Stein take up to formulate his conception of social kingdom and social state?

b) How did Hegelian and Steinian ideas of welfare statism influence the discourse over the creation of the German social state in the 19^th century, e.g. regarding the German Economic Association or chancellor Otto von Bismarck’s advisers in sociopolitical matters?

4. How can the power of interpretation approach help us analyze ideas of welfare statism and their consequences?

(Contribution to theory and methodology in political theory and the history of ideas)

a) How should a power of interpretation approach be formulated to be in accordance with the methodological approaches of discursive contextualism (Cambridge-School) as well as continental philosophical hermeneutics?

b) How does this power of interpretation approach contribute to the history of ideas of welfare statism and in what way is it a useful addition to existing theories?

DFG-Graduiertenkolleg Deutungsmacht