Habermas: Introduction and Analysis

358 Pages·2010·54.885 MB·English

by  David Ingram

CornellUniversityPressgratefullyacknowledgessupportfromthe
OfficeofResearchServices,LoyolaUniversity,whichaidedinthe
publicationofthisbook.
Copyright©2010byCornellUniversity
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,this
book,orpartsthereof,mustnotbereproducedinanyform
withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.Forinformation,
addressCornellUniversityPress,SageHouse,512EastState
Street,Ithaca,NewYork14850.
Firstpublished2010byCornellUniversityPress
Firstprinting,CornellPaperbacks,2010
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Ingram,David,1952-
Habermas:introductionandanalysis/DavidIngram.
p.em.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8014-4879-9(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN978-0-8014-7601-3 (pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Habermas,Jurgen. 2. Socialsciences-
Philosophy. 1. Title.
B3258.H234I55 2010
193-dc22 2010004404
CornellUniversityPressstrivestouseenvironmentallyresponsible
suppliersandmaterialstothefullestextentpossibleinthepublishing
ofitsbooks.Suchmaterialsincludevegetable-based,low-VOC
inksandacid-freepapersthatarerecycled,totallychlorine-free,or
partlycomposedofnonwoodfibers.Forfurtherinformation,visit
ourwebsiteatwww.comellpress.cornell.edu.
Clothprinting 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Paperbackprinting 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
There is a place where Contrarieties are equally true
This place is called Beulah. It is a pleasant lovely Shadow
Where no dispute can come, because ofthose who sleep.
WILLIAM BLAKE, Milton: Book the Second
In Memory of
HANS SEIGFRIED and IRIS MARION YOUNG
Tables
1. Transcendental constitution ofexperience 53
2. Taxonomy ofknowledge 59
3. Components ofspeech acts 81
4. The forn1al pragmatic taxonomy ofvalidityclaims 82
5. Types ofrationality 84
6. Types ofsocial action 88
7. Levels ofdemocracy: The flow ofcommunicative,
administrative, and social forms ofpower 202
8. Social evolutionarystages and their corresponding principles
oforganization 313
9. Marx's functionalist explanation ofsocial crisis
in capitalist society 348
Preface
Thisbookwaswrittenwiththeexpresspurposeofclarifyingthephilosophi
calarguments underlyingthesocialtheoryof]lirgenHabern1as. The biograph
ical details and intellectual history presented in the first chapter lead directly
to the second chapter's retrospective synopsis ofHabermas's earlywritings on
social science, psychoanalytic ideology critique, and knowledge-constitutive
interests before turning, in chapters 3 and 4, to his writings from the first
decade of the twenty-first century on philosophy of language and theory of
knowledge. I then take up Habermas's moral and legal theories. Because of
the intense interest that Habermas's discourse theory ofrights and democracy
has generated among philosophers, political scientists, and legal theorists, I
havethought itprudentto devotefive chapters to this topic alone. Particularly
noteworthy is the discussion in chapter 10 of global democracy. The book
concludes with a brief examination of Habermas's theory of modernity and
his diagnosis ofcontemporarysocialpathologies. Here Ireturn to the opening
theme ofchapter 1, the dialectic ofenlightenment, and shovv how Habermas's
views on religion and art bring him closer to his predecessors in the Frankfurt
school than mostcommentators realize.
Afew comments about the approach and content ofthe book are in order.
Habermas'swritingsimposeseveredemandsoneventhemostseasonedscholar.
He writes on virtually everytopic that has beentaken up by philosophers and
social scientists and does so in a systematic way. He writes dense prose and
presumes that the reader has more than justpassing familiarity with the many
figures and theories he engages as counterpoints to his own thought. This
book, however, does not presuppose any such familiarity. It aims to present
xiv Preface
Habermas's ideas in the clearest way possible, without relying on technical
language. It is unique in illustrating the practical implications of Habermas's
abstract theory across a range of applications, extending from abortion and
genetic engineering to human rights, multiculturalism, religion and politics,
feminist theory, immigration, workplace denl0cracy, and technology.
Parts of chapters 6 and 8 were published, respectively, under the follow
ing titles: "Of Sweatshops and Subsistence: Habermas on Human Rights" in
Ethics and GlobalJustice 2/3 (Fall 2009): 193-217 and "ExceptionalJustice?
A Discourse Ethical Contribution to the Immigrant Question" in Critical
Horizons lOll (April2009): 1-30.
I thank the Michigan State University Department of Philosophy for gen
erously funding a one-year research appointment as a Distinguished Visiting
Professorin2005-6,whichenabledmetowritethefirstdraftofthisbook.Iam
especially grateful to MSU and Loyola University Chicago graduate students
for their invaluable feedback in my Habermas seminars, and to Daniel Lorca,
Drew Pierce, and Nathan Hopkins for their insightful advanced research on
Habermas. Special thanks are owed to Bill Rehg, Cristina Lafont,J. D. Trout,
Diana Meyers, David Schweickart, Asaf Bar-Tura, and Paul Leisen for their
helpful comments, which I incorporated into revisions ofthis book. I am par
ticularly grateful to my editor at Cornell University Press, Roger Haydon, for
his strong advocacy of the book, and to Katy Meigs for her excellent copy
editing. Last but not least, I thank Jennifer Parks, for her loving support in
our philosophical and parental collaboration, and Sabina, Max, and Sam, for
bringing joyto our lives.
Abbreviations for Titles of
Works by Habermas
FFN Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of
LawandDemocracy. Trans. W. Rehg. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1996.
IBNR Between Naturalism and Religion: Philosophical Essays. Trans.
C. Cronin. Cambridge: PolityPress, 2008.
IBR
A Berlin Republic: Writings on Germany. Trans. S. Rendell. Lincoln:
University ofNebraska Press, 1997.
CD Habermas:CriticalDebates.Ed.D.Heldand].Thon1pson.Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1982.
CES Communication and the Evolution of Society. Trans. T. McCarthy.
Boston: BeaconPress,1979.
DS The Dialectics ofSecularization: On Reason and Religion, with Jo
seph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Trans. B. McNeil. San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006.
DW The Divided West. Trans. C. Cronan. Cambridge: PolityPress, 2006.
EFP Europe: The Faltering Project. Trans. C. Cronin. Cambridge: Polity
Press, 2009.
FHN The FutureofHuman Nature. Trans. W. Rehgetal. Cambridge: Polity
Press, 2003.
HAS Habermas: Autonomy and Solidarity: Interviews with ]iirgen Haber
mas. Trans. and ed. P. Dews. London: Verso, 1986.
xvi Abbreviations for Titles
HCU "The Hermeneutic Claim to Universality." In Contemporary Herme
neutics. Ed. J. Bleicher. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1980.
10 The Inclusion ofthe Other: Studies in Political Theory. Trans. and ed.
C. Cronin and P. De Greiff. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1998.
JA Justification and Application: Remarks on Discourse Ethics. Trans.
C. Cronin. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1993.
KHI Knowledge and Human Interests. Trans. J. Shapiro. Boston: Beacon
Press, 1971.
LC Legitimation Crisis. Trans. T. McCarthy. Boston: BeaconPress, 1975.
LPS TheLiberatingPowerofSymbols:PhilosophicalEssays.Trans.P.Dews.
Cambridge: MIT Press, 2001.
MCCA Moral Consciousness and CommunicativeAction. Trans. C. Lenhardt
and S. W. Nicholsen. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1990.
MUP "Modernity:AnUnfinishedProject." In CriticalTheory: TheEssential
Readings. Ed. D. Ingram and J. Simon. Trans. S. W. Nicholsen. New
York: Paragon House, 1991.
OLSS OntheLogicoftheSocialSciences. Trans. S.W. NicholsenandJ. Stark.
Cambridge: MIT Press, 1988.
OPC On the Pragmatics of Communication. Ed. M. Cooke. Can1bridge:
MIT Press, 1998.
PC The Postnational Constellation: Political Essays. Trans. M. Pensky.
Cambridge: MIT Press, 2001.
PDGS The Positivist Dispute in German Sociology, with T. Adorno et al.
Trans. G. Adey and D. Frisby. NewYork: Harper and Row, 1976.
PDM The Philosophical Discourse ofModernity: Twelve Lectures. Trans.
F. Lawrence. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1987.
PKHI "APostscriptto Knowledge and HumanInterests." Philosophy ofthe
SocialSciences 3 (1973): 157-89.
PP Philosophical-Political Profiles. Trans. F. Lawrence. Cambridge: MIT
Press, 1983.
PSI On the Pragmatics ofSocial Interaction: Preliminary Studies in the
Theory of Communicative Action. Trans. and ed. B. Fultner. Cam
bridge: MIT Press, 2001.
PT Postmetaphysical Thinking. Trans. W. M. Hohengarten. Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1992.
QC "Questions and Counter-Questions," Praxis International4/3 (1984).
RC "A Reply to My Critics." In Habermas: Critical Debates (see CD
above).
Abbreviations for Titles xvii
REPLY "A Reply." In Communicative Action: Essays on Jurgen Habermas's
"TheTheoryofCommunicativeAction."Ed.A. HonnethandH.Joas.
Cambridge: MIT Press, 1991.
RR ReligionandRationality:Essays on Reason~God, andModernity, Ed.
E. Mendietta. Cambridge: MITPress, 2002.
STPS The Structural Transformation ofthe Public Sphere: An Inquiry into
a Category ofBourgeois Society. Trans. T. Burger. Cambridge: MIT
Press, 1989.
TCA 1 The Theory of Communicative Action. Volume 1: Reason and the
Rationalization of Society. Trans. T. McCarthy. Boston: Beacon
Press, 1984.
TCA 2 The TheoryofCommunicativeAction.Volume2: LifeworldandSystem:
A CritiqueofFunctionalistReason. Trans.T.McCarthy. Boston: Beacon
Press, 1987.
TJ Truth and Justification. Trans. and ed. B. Fultner. Cambridge: MIT
Press, 2003.
TP Theory and Practice. Trans. and ed. J. Viertel. Boston: Beacon Press,
1973.
TRS Toward a RationalSociety. Trans. and ed. J. Shapiro. Boston: Beacon
Press, 1970.
TT Time ofTransitions. Trans. and ed. C. Cronin and M. Pensky. Can1
bridge: PolityPress, 2006.
1
A Public Intellectual
Committed to Reason
Philosophers are often dismissed for having their heads in the clouds-in
a word, for being irrelevant to the ways of the world. But history tells a dif
ferent story. Ideas can have world-transforming consequences. This was true
of the eighteenth-century period known as the Enlightenment-a period that
witnessed the American and French revolutions. And it is true today. The phi
losopher whose ideas are examined in this book-whose entire life has been
devoted to showing how freedonl, equality, and rational enlightenment are
embedded in our everyday speech-has not only revolutionized the academy.
He has revolutionized the politics of his native Germany and continues to af
fect the politics ofEurope and Asia.
Jiirgen Habermas is indisputably an international star in the pantheon of
living thinkers, but he is also a public intellectual who has engaged political
andreligious leaders.1Fewhavemeasured the breadth ofacademic learningas
deeply as he has; science, religion, history, politics, literature, and art are buta
few ofthe intellectual pathways along which he has journeyed. His contribu
tions to philosophy are of special note. In addition to his original interpreta
tion of the history of modern philosophy since Descartes, he has developed a
new system of ideas encompassing language and communication, knowledge
and reason, ethics and law, scienceandtechnology, economics and denl0cracy,
1. OnJanuary19,2004,HabermasmetCardinalJosephRatzinger(nowPopeBenedictXVI)at
theCatholicAcaden1YofBavariatodiscussthetopic"Pre-PoliticalFoundationsoftheDemocratic
State" (publishedinDS). OnJune5-6,1998,hemetwithGerhardSchroeder,Germanchancellor
from 1998to2005,attheWillyBrandtHausinBerlintodiscuss "theinclusionoftheother."
2 Habermas
as well as individual cognitive development and social evolution. This system
aticgraspofthehumanconditioninallitsfacets hasgainedhimthereputation
for being a formidable spokesperson on behalfofpublic policies that advance
equal rights and the common good, at home and abroad.
These ideals are now under attack. In an age racked bythe extremes ofreli
gious fundamentalism and scientific skepticism, Habermas has emerged as the
leading defender ofthe Enlightenment's faith in reason as a guide to morality
and politics. While many academics have enlbraced the postn10dern view that
reason designates onlyasubculturewithinWesterncivilizationand one, more
over, that perpetuates the destruction oftraditional community and the rise of
capitalistexploitation and bureaucratic domination,2 Habermas has staunchly
maintained that reason resides at the very heart of human communication,
which he believes is the greatengine for human emancipation.
For some, like An1erican philosopher Richard Rorty, Habermas's obsession
with defending reason amounts to "scratching where it doesn't itch," since
"reason" is mainly just the name of a philosophical parlor game whose im
portance to civilization is overrated and whose validity is largely relative to
Western culture.3 Others, taking an opposite tack, maintain that reason is
indeed centrally embodied in such institutions as science, human rights, and
democracy butthatthe need to defendthese institutions philosophicallyis un
necessary since their ultimate global dominance in the future is assured.4 The
upsurge of religious fundamentalism and the politics of "n1ight makes right"
during the first decade ofthe twenty-first century now suggests that these dis
missals ofphilosophical enlightenmentare premature.
Habermas's Life
Habermas's enlightenment project has a long history, dating back to his ex
periences growing up in Nazi Germany. Hitler presented his fascist dictator
ship as the exact antithesis of the liberal, democratic humanism heralded by
the Enlightenment. For Hitler, universal humanity was a myth of reason that
was at odds with the world historical destiny of the German people as the
2. The term "postmodernism" designates a criticism ofreason, conceived as a universal and
certainfoundation for knowledgeandmorality, andofmodernculture,understoodasaprogres
sive unfolding of knowledge and morality. Postmodern themes regarding the fragmentation (or
deconstruction) ofreason bearonsociological dislocations associatedwithmulticulturalism, the
destruction oftradition, the dissolution ofautonomous moral agency, and the delegitimation of
scientificandpoliticalformsofauthority.SeeJ.-F.Lyotard,ThePostmodernCondition:A Report
onKnowledge(Minneapolis:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,1984).
3. R.Rorty, "HabermasandLyotardonPostmodernism,"inEssaysonHeideggerandOthers:
PhilosophicalPapers,vol.2(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1991).IdiscussHabermas's
differenceswithRortyinchapter3ofthisbook.
4. F.Fukuyama,TheEndofHistoryandtheLastMan (NewYork:FreePress, 1992).