Habermas's Critical Theory: Epistemological and Methodological Foundations

Dissertation, University of Minnesota (1990)
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Abstract

The philosophical tradition to which critical theory belongs began as the critique of reason, in Kant's critiques of pure reason, practical reason and aesthetic judgment. In Hegel, the critique of reason became at the same time a theory of the history of reason. In Marx, the history of reason becomes a critical theory of modern capitalist society. Habermas' critical theory deeply reflects this philosophical tradition. On the one hand a critique of reason, his work also contains a theory of societal evolution. Both are fundamental to his critical theory of the postindustrial welfare state. ;The organization of this dissertation mirrors these fundamental dimensions of Habermas' work. Following the introductory chapter, the first part of the dissertation presents Habermas' theory of communicative rationality. The basic norms of communicative rationality are the rules that govern the use, in discourse, of what Habermas calls the three "validity claims": truth claims, normative validity claims, and aesthetic/expressive validity claims. The principal challenges that Habermas sees to his theory of communicative rationality have come from those who privilege scientific and technical discourse over other kinds of discourse, and, with regard to ethical discourse, from those who deny the rationality of discourse concerned with values. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 present Habermas' theories of truth and normative and aesthetic validity, respectively, in light of these challenges. Finally, Chapter 4 explains the connection seen by Habermas between communicative rationality and communicative competence. ;Once the foundations of the theory of communicative rationality are evident, it is possible to turn to the theory of societal rationalization . Here a second, noncommunicative form of rationality enters the scene: function reason. Where communicative reason explains the evolution of culture, the evolution of modern society occurs as an interaction between culture and the economic and administrative systems, which are governed not by communicative, but by functional, reason. It is here that the critical intent of Habermas' work emerges. ;The sixth chapter examines Habermas' defense of his views with respect to neopositivism, on the one hand, and the postmodern challenge, on the other

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