ABSTRACT
The “nature” of moral conviction, its ambivalence between “positive” – moral strength and stability under difficult conditions – and “negative” characteristics – narrowmindedness and dogmatic thinking – is thoroughly discussed in philosophy and psychology. But when do we begin to develop moral convictions? How stable are these convictions throughout our lives? Under which conditions do we change convictions? These questions point to the context sensitivity of conviction building and its changeable character. To explore these processes, it might be an interesting approach to bring into play the concept of atmosphere as a social phenomenon. According to the psychologist and psychiatrist Hubert Tellenbach we are surrounded by atmospheres from our early childhood on, which inherently influence our relation to other people and the world. Considering this, individual conviction building can be seen as a process that takes place in certain intimate (family), institutional (education), and cultural atmospheres. Consequently, we might change our convictions with the atmospheres we experience: An extreme, but illustrative example is totalitarian regimes that develop “toxic atmospheres” (Peter Sloterdijk), leading to the contamination of social micro-and macro-spaces and gaining the power to change individual convictions. This complex interplay between conviction building and atmospheres is the main issue of this contribution.
