On the Process of Compassionization: The Transformation of the Individual's Attitude Towards Animals from a Historical-Sociological Perspective.

(English) This dissertation examines the ongoing cultural and social transformation of Western society's attitudes toward animals, focusing on the process of compassionization from a historical- sociological perspective. It is based on the assumption that the individual's relationship with animals is fundamentally shaped by historical, symbolic, and cultural dynamics. The analysis focuses on the influence of shifting forms of rationality on individuals' attitudes toward animals, drawing on the perspective of Ernest Gellner; on the transformation of these attitudes in the context of Norbert Elias's theories; and on the sociology of emotions, which enables the analysis of how emotional responses to animals are socially and culturally constructed and how these emotions shape norms and practices in the individual's relation to animals. The empirical section, which aims to provide a comprehensive reflection on the current state of compassionization, employs a triangulation of qualitative methods: semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and ethnography of a specific form of street activism known as the "Cube of Truth." The analysis reveals the mechanisms through which cultural and social frameworks, norms, and values that shape the individual's relationship with animals are constructed and...