Veronika Müller

Many of the major international and intrastate crises and conflicts, but also the threat to democratic principles, are driven by belief systems and ideologies. They fuel political polarization, which is particularly evident in the battleground of social media. Nevertheless, we hardly pay attention to ideologies, their narratives, functions and organizations in economic theory today. Ideologies as “non-rational beliefs” seem incompatible with rationality in economic models. Therefore, the book examines the role of ideologies and belief systems in individual decision-making behavior from an economic and rational perspective. Due to the fact that people have incomplete information, belief systems and ideologies fulfill a number of important functions. While ideologies themselves serve psychological needs, they are used as a cognitive framework for rational decision-making once they have been adopted through a Bayesian learning process. They influence decisions in a wide range of areas, from consumption and work to politics. This is where the role of ideological organizations becomes important, because they determine the ideological direction of the narratives and their dissemination. Thus, ideologies give a normative direction, for better or for worse. The “quality” of ideological leadership can be evaluated normatively on the basis of principles such as individual sovereignty and human dignity. A democratic discourse requires an information and communication system that enables an evaluation of precisely these ideologies, free from resource and information power.

This book combines theoretical and empirical research across various academic disciplines including economics, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and political science to describe why individuals adopt political ideologies and how this choice can potentially exacerbate conflict and violence. Ideology is particularly important to conflict. Data on intra- and international conflict shows that the number of ideologically driven conflicts has increased tremendously in recent decades. Although some researchers started to investigate this link extensively, they struggle to find holistic explanations. The book illustrates that ideologies are not only capable of shaping conflictual behavior or mobilizing political actors, but also of addressing human needs, desires, and preferences. Hence, the authors compile valuable insights from various academic disciplines to explain how individuals adopt ideologies that match their underlying needs and preferences; that ideologies have the capacity to reconcile deprived psychological human needs; and that radical groups and organizations use ideologies to recruit individuals and pursue their objectives. Real-life cases are included to better understand these relationships and to apply the theoretical background to real-world situations.

In diesem Buch analysiert Veronika M ller Julians Werk Ad Florum 1, das durch Augustinus im Contra Iulianum opus imperfectum ausf hrlich zitiert und kommentiert wurde. Ad Florum 1 wird erstmalig in einem zusammenh ngenden Textfluss ohne Augustins Kommentare, mit einer deutschen bersetzung und einem Kommentar dargeboten. Die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse sind in der Hinf hrung gesammelt, die dem Leser eine gute Orientierung f r die Interpretation des lateinischen Textes erm glicht. Veronika M ller erhellt mit ihrer Untersuchung den literarischen und philosophisch-theologischen Kontext von Julians Werk und r ckt insbesondere Julians rhetorisch-argumentative Vorgehensweise ins Zentrum der Betrachtung. In this volume Veronika M ller examines Julian's work Ad Florum 1, which is both quoted and commented by Augustine in his Contra Iulianum opus imperfectum. For the first time, Ad Florum 1 is offered in continuous text without Augustine's comments, including a German translation and with a commentary. The most important findings are collected in the introduction providing the reader with a compass to the interpretation of the Latin text. With her analysis, Veronika M ller illuminates the literary and philosophical-theological context of Julian's work particularly focusing on Julian's rhetorical-argumentative approach.