Grundlegende Probleme des empirischen Kulturvergleichs. Ein problemorientierter Überblick über aktuelle Diskussionen

This article explicates and discusses nomothetic and idiographic approaches in empirical cross-cultural research. Both approaches are confronted with at least three common problems: the problem of a clear and practical useful classification of the concept “culture”, the problem of the comparability of cultures including the old discussion about the incommensurability of phenomenon from different cultures and the problem of nostrification – the question if and how one could explain and understand different cultures avoiding a simple transfer of own concepts. The different and sometimes similar proposals for solutions of these problems in the different approaches are presented.