Habermas' Method: Rational Reconstruction
Jørgen Pedersen
University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Given the prominent position Habermas' philosophy has gained, it is surprising that his method, rational reconstruction, has not caused more debate. This article clarifies what this method consists of, and shows how it is used in two of Habermas' research programs. The method is an interesting, but problematic way of confronting some of the basic epistemological questions in the social sciences. It represents an alternative to both the empirical-analytical and the hermeneutic tradition. On the basis of this methodology, Habermas' work is situated between the transcendental and the empirical approach. A fundamental problem is that it remains unclear how to test the hypothesis put forward through rational reconstruction.
Key Words: Philosophical method • rational reconstruction • critical theory • formal pragmatics • development theory • Jürgen Habermas
from here
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Communicative Reason and Intercultural Understanding
Communicative Reason and Intercultural Understanding
A Critical Discussion of Habermas
Mihaela Czobor-Lupp
Georgetown University, mihaelaclupp@aol.com
Although Habermas sees intercultural understanding as a political task, his model of communicative rationality cannot satisfactorily explain how this could happen. One reason is the definition of the aesthetic, form-giving, moment of imagination, which reflects deeper epistemological and linguistic assumptions of discourse ethics. Despite sporadic attempts to recognize the role of rhetoric and poetry as an indispensable part of the communicative praxis, at the end of the day, Habermas sees language as fundamentally geared toward transparency and clarity, and not as endowed with poetic power and polyphonic creativity. My article aims to further develop, with the help of Vico and Bakhtin, the incipient thread in Habermas's discourse ethics that recognizes the importance of linguistic creativity and of imagination in communicative practice. This would help one to argue that, even when rational consensus and agreement cannot be achieved, dialogue is still not abandoned. This is the case because, through a larger definition of the dialogical, which adds to the discursive aspect, an aesthetic, rhetorical, and metaphorical dimension, it is possible to say that, even when conflicting, different voices and languages are still creatively and imaginatively interilluminating and hybridizing each other. Thus, they still transform each other, creating, at the same time, a prediscursive commonality, that can function as a necessary prerequisite for intercultural understanding.
Key Words: aesthetics • Bakhtin • discourse ethics • Habermas • imagination • intercultural understanding • Vico
here
A Critical Discussion of Habermas
Mihaela Czobor-Lupp
Georgetown University, mihaelaclupp@aol.com
Although Habermas sees intercultural understanding as a political task, his model of communicative rationality cannot satisfactorily explain how this could happen. One reason is the definition of the aesthetic, form-giving, moment of imagination, which reflects deeper epistemological and linguistic assumptions of discourse ethics. Despite sporadic attempts to recognize the role of rhetoric and poetry as an indispensable part of the communicative praxis, at the end of the day, Habermas sees language as fundamentally geared toward transparency and clarity, and not as endowed with poetic power and polyphonic creativity. My article aims to further develop, with the help of Vico and Bakhtin, the incipient thread in Habermas's discourse ethics that recognizes the importance of linguistic creativity and of imagination in communicative practice. This would help one to argue that, even when rational consensus and agreement cannot be achieved, dialogue is still not abandoned. This is the case because, through a larger definition of the dialogical, which adds to the discursive aspect, an aesthetic, rhetorical, and metaphorical dimension, it is possible to say that, even when conflicting, different voices and languages are still creatively and imaginatively interilluminating and hybridizing each other. Thus, they still transform each other, creating, at the same time, a prediscursive commonality, that can function as a necessary prerequisite for intercultural understanding.
Key Words: aesthetics • Bakhtin • discourse ethics • Habermas • imagination • intercultural understanding • Vico
here
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Redeeming Labor: Making Explicit the Virtue Theory in Habermas's Discourse Ethics
Redeeming Labor: Making Explicit the Virtue Theory in Habermas's Discourse Ethics
Leland L. Glenna
The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA, llg13@psu.edu
The assertion that neo-classical economics is value-neutral is not just problematic because it is false, but also because it masks the origins of neo-classical economics as a moral science that has had a normative influence on social interaction. However, critics need to move beyond merely exposing the value-laden nature of neo-classical economics if the social sciences are to counter the emotivism of neo-classical economics and to reclaim their foundation as the moral sciences. A social theory of action is needed that acknowledges people's capacity to act virtuously. As a product of the German Enlightenment Tradition, Habermas relies upon an implicit Lutheran neighbor-love ethic when he constructs his theory of communicative action and discourse ethics. A theory that recognizes the capacity of people to collectively generate virtues which then govern their actions offers the potential to redeem labor from emotivism.
Key Words: discourse ethics • emotivism • neo-classical economics • virtue theory
from here
Leland L. Glenna
The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA, llg13@psu.edu
The assertion that neo-classical economics is value-neutral is not just problematic because it is false, but also because it masks the origins of neo-classical economics as a moral science that has had a normative influence on social interaction. However, critics need to move beyond merely exposing the value-laden nature of neo-classical economics if the social sciences are to counter the emotivism of neo-classical economics and to reclaim their foundation as the moral sciences. A social theory of action is needed that acknowledges people's capacity to act virtuously. As a product of the German Enlightenment Tradition, Habermas relies upon an implicit Lutheran neighbor-love ethic when he constructs his theory of communicative action and discourse ethics. A theory that recognizes the capacity of people to collectively generate virtues which then govern their actions offers the potential to redeem labor from emotivism.
Key Words: discourse ethics • emotivism • neo-classical economics • virtue theory
from here
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