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Reason and Authority in Habermas: A Critique of the Critics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Stephen K. White
Stephen K. White*
Affiliation:
University of Hartford
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Abstract

Some critics of Jürgen Habermas have charged that his ideas have an affinity with authoritarianism. This criticism rests on a fundamental misinterpretation of Habermas' project for a communicative ethics. Political authoritarianism is deeply incompatible with his conceptions of practical rationality and normative legitimacy. After demonstrating this incompatibility, I propose an explanation for the persistence of misunderstanding on this question. In conclusion, some suggestions are offered as to the sort of political orientation one can justifiably derive from Habermas' philosophical foundations.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 74 , Issue 4 , December 1980 , pp. 1007 - 1017
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1980

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