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J rgen Habermas The Theory of Communicative Action (1981) Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action (1983/ tr 1995) Postmetaphysical Thinking (1988) – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: J


1
  • Jürgen Habermas
  • The Theory of Communicative Action (1981)
  • Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action
    (1983/ tr 1995)
  • Postmetaphysical Thinking (1988)
  • Dialektik der Säkularisierung. Über Vernunft und
    Religion (with Joseph Ratzinger (2005) English
    The Dialectics of Secularization On Reason and
    Religion)

2
  • General characteristics
  • Continues and reconstructs Enlightenment ideals
    (of political emancipation and democracy)
  • vs relativism
  • practical, pragmatic, procedural, formal 100
    find solutions to normative problems in discourse
    / communication
  • An analysis of communicative structures
  • We need to identify and reconstruct the universal
    conditions of possible understanding
  • communicative action, the process of giving and
    criticizing reasons for holding or rejecting
    particular claims
  • language cannot be comprehended unless an
    understanding is achieved in it
  • - not settling the issue of the good life
    (impossible with pluralism), but justice 101
  • there is an irreducible plurality of 'goods'
    this conditions and limits moral conversation
  • So a non-moral sense of ethics.

3
  • General characteristics
  • What do we have?
  • A development and reformulation of Kants
    insights a deontological ethics 101
  • a 'dialogical form of practical reason'
  • validity of a norm is justified only
    intersubjectively in processes of argumentation
    between individuals in a dialectic.
  • in search of a rational founding (Begrundung) of
    propositions
  • Needs a life-world of a specific social group
    100
  • attempt to bridge the gap between "is" and "ought"

4
  • assumptions
  • 1. - rationality is a characteristic of all human
    beings
  • 2. - freedom is a characteristic of all human
    beings leads to autonomy
  • this is the basis of reciprocity (why others
    count) and its emanicipatory character (as being
    critical of established authority)
  • 3, - equality
  • 4. - therefore, all issues (incl. moral problems)
    are capable of being solved in a rational and
    cognitive way
  • 5. - the existence of some universal claims and
    therefore the importance of universal norms
  • leads to democracy, based on consent
  • 6. rationality capable, through discourse, of
    arriving at universal norms.
  • 7. - (from 3) We need to take into consideration
    the viewpoints of all who would be affected by
    the adoption of normative claims

5
  • the principle of discourse ethics (D) stipulates
  • a moral norm may claim validity to be
    justified only if all who might be affected by
    it reach (or would reach) in their capacity as
    participants in a practical discourse, agreement
    that this norm is valid (J. Habermas,
    "Discourse Ethics Notes on a Program of
    Philosophical Justification," Cambridge, MIT
    Press 1990, p. 71).
  • the principle of universalization (U)
  • A norm is valid only if "all concerned affected
    can accept the consequences and the side affects
    its universal observance can be anticipated to
    have for the satisfaction for everyone's
    interests (and that these consequences are
    preferred to those of known alternative
    possibilities for regulation)." (p. 71)
  • "unless all affected can freely accept the
    consequences and the side effects that the
    general observance of a controversial norm can be
    expected to have for the satisfaction of the
    interests of each individual" (see p. ___ Moral
    Consciousness and Communicative Action, p. 93).

6
  • Why universality?
  • Every person who accepts the universal and
    necessary communicative presuppositions of
    argumentative speech and who knows what I means
    to justify a norm of action implicitly
    presupposes as valid the principle of
    universalisation,
  • - Habermas, Moral Consciousness and
    Communicative Action, MIT Press, 1995, p. 86.

7
  • Specific normative assumptions / rules of the
    game
  • Habermas (1990) / Robert Alexy
  • Level 1 logical-semantic rules of argumentation
    (no ethical content) p. 84
  • Understandability
  • Non-contradiction (1.1) No speaker may contradict
    himself.
  • Consistency (1.2) Every speaker who applies
    predicate F to object A must be prepared to apply
    F to all other objects resembling A in all
    relevant aspects.
  • No Equivocation (1.3) Different speakers may not
    use the same expression with different meanings
    (p. 87).

8
  • Specific normative assumptions / rules of the
    game
  • Habermas (1990) / Alexy
  • Level 2 the rules of jurisdiction and relevance
    (have ethical import and content) p. 85
  • Sincerity / Seriousness / Authenticity
    Ernsthaftigkeit,
  • (2.1) Every speaker may assert only what he
    really believes.
  • Legitimacy
  • (2.2) A person who disputes a proposition or norm
    not under discussion must provide a reason for
    wanting to do so (p.88).

9
  • Specific normative assumptions / rules of the
    game
  • Habermas (1990) / Alexy
  • Level 3 Ideal Speech Situation p. 86
  • Openness / Freedom from Constraint and Coercion
  • (3.1) Every subject with the competence to speak
    and act is allowed to take part in a discourse.
  • (3.2) a. Everyone is allowed to question any
    assertion whatever.
  • b. Everyone is allowed to introduce any assertion
    whatever into the discourse.
  • c. Everyone is allowed to express his attitudes,
    desires and needs.
  • (3.3) No speaker may be prevented, by internal or
    external coercion, from exercising his rights as
    laid down in (3.1) and (3.2) (p. 88).

10
  • Consensus all affected can freely accept the
    consequences and the side effects that the
    general observance of a controversial norm can be
    expected to have for the satisfaction of the
    interests of each individual.

11
  • Discourse Ethics and Solidarity
  • these procedural rules must be complemented by a
    sense of solidarity among participants (i.e.,
    concern for the well-being of both one's fellow
    human beings and of the community at large)
  • "Justice conceived in postconventional terms a
    Kohlbergian reference can converge with
    solidarity, as its other side, only when
    solidarity has been transformed in the light of
    the idea of a general, discursive formation of
    will."
  • Discourse Ethics and Democracy
  • the general conditions of the ideal speech
    situation and the rules of reason, coupled with
    this sense of solidarity, describe the necessary
    conditions of democratic polity.
  • these conditions and rules establish the
    legitimacy of pluralism.

12
  • There can be rightness and wrongness
  • I hold the view that normative rightness must be
    regarded as a claim to validity that is analogous
    to a truth claim. This notion is captured by the
    term cognitivist ethics . A cognitivist ethics
    must answer the question of how to justify
    normative statements.. Only those norms may
    claim to be valid that could meet with the
    consent of all affected in their role as
    participants in a practical discourse.. For a
    norm to be valid, the consequences and side
    effects of its general observance for the
    satisfaction of each person's particular
    interests must be acceptable to all. (Morality
    and Ethical Life, in MCCA, p. 197)

13
  • Advantages
  • Useful provides a (communicative) framework in
    which political and (some) moral conflicts can be
    resolved
  • Presence of rationality, freedom, equality
  • Non-relativistic (right wrong)
  • Universalizable
  • Consistent with solidarity and democracy

14
  • Limited in extent
  • self-understanding and self-determination not
    included in moral theory
  • Limited in scope
  • Does not give norms for every moral conflict that
    might arise
  • Individualistic
  • individual participants
  • tries to avoid this through generalization Is
    this possible?
  • Naively idealistic
  • assumes that human beings have capacities that
    they dont have people are incapable of being
    objective and rational in dialogue

15
  • Inconsistent
  • Too vague
  • rightness defined in terms of worthiness
  • Too narrow
  • applies in some situations with a practical
    resolution (e.g., conflict resolution)
  • Too much or too little Kantianism
  • has Habermas adequately defended universalization
    as necessary/required for argumentation?
  • do we need universalization?
  • Does it apply to all discourses?
  • No not comprehensive doctrines / religious ones
  • Question-begging or too narrow?
  • assumes that some reasons (public reasons) are
    superior to others
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