1. Habermas and the Frankfurters Soeterbeeck 07022007

2. Enlightenment Let’s replace superstition, tradition and power with Reason Examplar for ‘Reason’: Science, and (later) Technology

3. Resistance by Conservatism Romanticism [sometimes linked, sometimes not] ‘Germany versus England and France’

4. Karl Marx Capitalism is a unjust but necessary stage in the rationalisation of economy and society: the cool and calculating gaze of the capitalist robs the world of illusion and pretence. Communism would finally conclude the rationalisation-process by collectivizing production forces. Real democracy!

5. Historical background Rapid industrialisation of Germany; It was believed to be the country most likely to affirm Marx’ predictions about the proletarian Revolution However, the Spartacus rebellion after WW1 was quickly repressed Many proletarians opted for social democrats or nazism, instead of for communism

6. Institut für Sozialforschung 1930: Max Horkheimer becomes director Key members: –Theodor Adorno –Walter Benjamin –Herbert Marcuse –Erich Fromm

7. Key question Why no Revolution?

8. Key answer False necessity

9. Solution Critical Theory: showing that reality is not to be accepted for what it is, but contains the seeds of its own undoing (Hegelian dialectic) –Critique of mass media and production –Critique of positivism/rationality (i.e. Science and technology) [Max Weber: iron cage]

10. Influence of nazism Reason not simply helps postponing the revolution, but can perform atrocities: Reason turns on man: the industrialisation of death

11. Dialektik der Aufklärung 1944 (1947) Main thesis: the Enlightenment has become oppressive instead of emancipatory, because Reason = instrumental Reason Instrumental reason replaces mythical relation to the world: Ulysses

12. Instrumental reason = controlling and manipulated a objectified, reified world by use of science and technology In the last stage this leads to an objectivation of the objectifier (the subject) No escape possible; only resistance

13. Jürgen Habermas Assistant to Adorno; last of the Frankfurters Main goal: saving the promis of the Enlightenment from the totalizing critique of this teachers Formative experience: growing up under nazism, where ‘everyone’ agreed on the wrong things

14. ‘father’ of deliberative democracy Opposed to negotiating about interests Instead: goal is to develop a shared vision, which might entail a rationally motivated revision of your initial interest- definition, by exchanging arguments between equals No ‘aggregation of interests’ but ‘transformation of opinions’

15. Main criticism of H&A H&A’s critique of Instrumental Reason it in itself correct and valuable, but because they denounce Reason per se they can no longer rationally justify their critique. Normative aporia

16. To save the Enlightenment We need not abandon Reason, but broaden it/ stop reducing it to its instrumental dimension so as to include moral/political reason The Enlightenment turned sour, not because of too much Reason but because of too little of it.

17. Subject-[subject]-object Modern philosophy (of consciousness) rests on subject-object model: –Contemplation –Correspondence theory of truth –individualism no harm-principle H’s alternative philosophy (of action) rests on subject-subject-model: subjects trying to coordinate their actions by reaching consensus about the world

18. Influence of Peirce Charles Alexander Peirce: pragmatism ‘truth’ is not correspondence of language with objects, but it is the consensus reached by an ideal scientific community: –No one excluded –No power differences –All information available

19. Main source of inspiraton Searle’s and Austin’s speech-act theory + Wittgenstein 2: by uttering words we act/perform. Habermas builds this into his Theory of communicative action, which replaces the traditional focus on objectivity with a new focus on intersubjective processes of consensus-building.

20. Communicative action In everyday life we have to coordinate our actions. We can do this in two basic ways: A) strategic: we use empirical impulses (force, power, money) B) communicative action (by exchanging arguments, for which we claim validity

21. Strategic action is derivative of communicative action. You cannot force someone to believe x, you can only try to persuade her. But persuasion only has a chance of success, on the condition that the other believes certain conditions are fullfilled.

22. Crux: According to Habermas, it is a inescapable presupposition of communicative action that the speaker is willing to back his validity claims up by arguments + is willing to listing counter-arguments. If this willingness is obviously lacking, communication breaks down. If you find out later that this willingness was lacking, this is cause to retrospectively break up the consensus. Communication -> validity -> willingness to offer arguments -> ideal speech situation

23. Ideal speech situation No exclusion Trancends temporal and spatial limitations No strategic acting, e.g. lying Always possible to break up a temporary consensus

24. Three worlds Objective world of things Social world of relations Subjective world of experiences

25. Three types of validity claims In speaking about these worlds, we raise three types of validity claims Objective world: truth, efficiency Social world: moral rightness Subjective world: rightness

26. Speechacts have 3 dimensions Every time you utter a speechact, you claim that it is right to do so and that it is authentic.

27. Social theory Society can analytically be divided in two broad segments A) Lifeworld: everyday world of communicative action [arguments] B) System: domains of instrumental/strategic action:market + state [money + power]

28. Three subdomains Domains in which the conditions of ideal speechsituation are (more) met than in everyday communication, and which are specialized on one of the three validity dimensions: Truth - science Rightness - law Authenticiy - art

29. science Procedures to minimize power and interests Arguing and breaking up consensus are applauded It is always possible to open up an established consensus Even though these are unrealized ideals, as ideals they are real

30. Morality and law All morals turn on universality, equality, the common good, solidarity These values draw on the presuppositions of communicative action like reciprocity and mutuality

31. Frankfurter diagnosis à la Habermas The capitalist world is characterized by a ‘colonisation’ (and perversion) of the Lifeworld by the System (which utilizes the subdomain of science)

32. Cause for hope Reality contains the seeds of its own negation, because it always refers to necessary ideals built into the texture of our interactions, i.e. the ideal speech situation [ideals are real] Social acceptance rational validity (anti-semitism would never stand the test of the ideal speechsituation

33. True Enlightenment = decolonisation of the lifeworld; fighting other disruptions of communicative action rationalisation (= universalisation) of morals and law.