- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804769129
- eISBN:
- 9780804777810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804769129.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
In his Theory of Communicative Action, Jürgen Habermas proposes a theory of “communicative action” and sets it within a concept of society he calls “lifeworld.” In both his Theory of Communicative ...
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In his Theory of Communicative Action, Jürgen Habermas proposes a theory of “communicative action” and sets it within a concept of society he calls “lifeworld.” In both his Theory of Communicative Action and later in Between Facts and Norms, Habermas describes the “lifeworld” as the basic conception of society, to be amended or supplemented only for cause. In addition, Habermas argues that in the course of social evolution, systems of economic and political action arise whereby action is coordinated by the consequences of self-interested action, rather than consensual understanding. This chapter explores Habermas's idea of such “systems” based on his reading of Talcott Parsons. It also examines how Habermas integrates the lifeworld and system concepts into his model of system/lifeworld interchange. It argues that the critical model developed by Habermas in Theory of Communicative Action is more functionalist than straightforwardly normative.Less
In his Theory of Communicative Action, Jürgen Habermas proposes a theory of “communicative action” and sets it within a concept of society he calls “lifeworld.” In both his Theory of Communicative Action and later in Between Facts and Norms, Habermas describes the “lifeworld” as the basic conception of society, to be amended or supplemented only for cause. In addition, Habermas argues that in the course of social evolution, systems of economic and political action arise whereby action is coordinated by the consequences of self-interested action, rather than consensual understanding. This chapter explores Habermas's idea of such “systems” based on his reading of Talcott Parsons. It also examines how Habermas integrates the lifeworld and system concepts into his model of system/lifeworld interchange. It argues that the critical model developed by Habermas in Theory of Communicative Action is more functionalist than straightforwardly normative.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804769129
- eISBN:
- 9780804777810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804769129.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
This book examines the complex theory of law and democracy developed by German philosopher and sociologist, Jürgen Habermas. Designed to be understood by those with little prior acquaintance with law ...
More
This book examines the complex theory of law and democracy developed by German philosopher and sociologist, Jürgen Habermas. Designed to be understood by those with little prior acquaintance with law and legal theory, it explores the basic concepts of social action and social theory that Habermas incorporates from his work of the late 1970s and 1980s. It considers the argument of Habermas's two-volume Theory of Communicative Action (1981) and the first part of his work on law and democracy: the normative “discourse theory” proper. It also discusses his “reconstruction” of modern law's “normative self-understanding,” his derivation of a system of rights in comparison with John Rawls's principles of justice, his general theory of adjudication in dialogue with Ronald Dworkin's theory of “constructive interpretation,” and the implications of his proceduralist theory for constitutional law and democratic politics. The book also looks at three of Habermas's main themes: the role of religion in the public square, political-philosophical issues surrounding multiculturalism, and the possibilities of democracy beyond the nation-state (with special emphasis on the European Union).Less
This book examines the complex theory of law and democracy developed by German philosopher and sociologist, Jürgen Habermas. Designed to be understood by those with little prior acquaintance with law and legal theory, it explores the basic concepts of social action and social theory that Habermas incorporates from his work of the late 1970s and 1980s. It considers the argument of Habermas's two-volume Theory of Communicative Action (1981) and the first part of his work on law and democracy: the normative “discourse theory” proper. It also discusses his “reconstruction” of modern law's “normative self-understanding,” his derivation of a system of rights in comparison with John Rawls's principles of justice, his general theory of adjudication in dialogue with Ronald Dworkin's theory of “constructive interpretation,” and the implications of his proceduralist theory for constitutional law and democratic politics. The book also looks at three of Habermas's main themes: the role of religion in the public square, political-philosophical issues surrounding multiculturalism, and the possibilities of democracy beyond the nation-state (with special emphasis on the European Union).
