The philosophical significance of binary categories in Habermas’s discourse ethics

The philosophical programme associated with the discourse ethics of Jürgen Habermas has been widely discussed in the literature. The fact that Habermas has devoted a considerable part of his work to the elaboration of this philosophical programme indicates that discourse ethics can be regarded as a cornerstone of his communication-theoretic approach to society. In essence, Habermas conceives of discourse ethics as a philosophical framework which derives the coordinative power of social normativity from the discursive power of communicative rationality. Although there is an extensive literature on Habermas’s communication-theoretic account of society, almost no attention has been paid to the fact that the theoretical framework which undergirds his discourse ethics is based on a number of binary conceptual divisions. It is the purpose of this paper to shed light on the philosophical significance of these binary categories in Habermas’s discourse ethics and thereby demonstrate that their complexity is indicative of the subject’s tension-laden immersion in social reality

Meadian reflections on the existential ambivalence of human selfhood

This paper examines the existential ambivalence of human selfhood by drawing upon George Herbert Mead’s distinction between the ‘I’ and the ‘me’. In order to make a case for the centrality of this conceptual distinction, the paper offers a comprehensive account of a variety of different meanings which the notions of the ‘I’ and the ‘me’ are given in Mead’s analysis of the self. The distinction between the ‘I’ and the ‘me’ has been extensively discussed in the literature, but neither supporters nor detractors of Mead’s symbolic interactionism have provided a detailed study of its multifaceted significance for the constitution of selfhood. The paper seeks to demonstrate that Mead’s analytical separation between the ‘I’ and the ‘me’ allows us to shed light on the multilayered ambivalence of the human self, that is, on the existential significance of various opposing forces which pervade every ordinary subject’s relation to the world

Between emancipation and domination: Habermasian reflections on the empowerment and disempowerment of the human subject

Habermas’s ‘linguistic turn’ can be regarded as a systematic attempt to locate the normative foundations of critical theory in the rational foundations of language. This endeavour is motivated by the insight that any theoretical framework that is committed to the emancipation of the human condition needs to identify the normative grounds on which both its critique of social domination and its pursuit of social liberation can be justified. Just as Habermas’s firm belief in the possibility of human emancipation manifests itself in the concept of the ‘ideal speech situation’, his radical critique of human domination cannot be separated from the concept of ‘systematically distorted communication’. Although the significance of these two concepts for Habermas’s communication-theoretic approach to the social has been widely recognised and extensively debated in the literature, their overall importance for a critical theory of human empowerment and disempowerment has hardly been explored in a satisfying manner. Drawing upon Habermas’s communication-theoretic conception of human coexistence, this paper makes a case for the view that a comprehensive critical theory of society needs to account for both the emancipatory and the repressive potentials of language if it seeks to do justice to both the empowering and the disempowering potentials of the subject

Introduction: preliminary reflections on the legacy of Pierre Bourdieu

Book synopsis: Pierre Bourdieu is widely regarded as one of the most influential sociologists of his generation, and yet the reception of his work in different cultural contexts and academic disciplines has been varied and uneven. This volume maps out the legacy of Pierre Bourdieu in contemporary social and political thought from the standpoint of classical European sociology and from the broader perspective of transatlantic social science. It brings together contributions from prominent scholars in the field, providing a range of perspectives on the continuing relevance of Bourdieu’s oeuvre to substantive problems in social and political analysis

Poder y anti-poder (I-III)

This work is a critical analysis of the notions of power and anti-power. The study is divided into five parts. The first part examines the relation between power and anti-power in epistemological terms, showing that the moment of negation represents a crucial element in the construction of critical thought. The second part offers a brief revision of classical Marxist theory, which interprets the concepts of power and anti-power mainly in relation to the concept of structure. The third part suggests that it is necessary to overcome the limitations of classical theories of power in order to recognise that both the strength of power and the strength of anti-power depend on their capacity to penetrate our subjectivity. The fourth part argues that a critical theory of power and anti-power must account for the destructive force of alienation if it seeks to comprehend the quotidian reality of domination. The fifth part explores the importance of the dialectics between power and anti-power for the possibility of social revolution

Reflexões sobre a ideologia: as lições de Pierre Bourdieu e Luc Boltanski

The main purpose of this article is to demonstrate the enduring relevance of the concept of ideology to contemporary sociological analysis. To this end, the article draws upon central arguments put forward by Pierre Bourdieu and Luc Boltanski in ‘La production de l’idéologie dominante’ [‘The Production of the Dominant Ideology’]. Yet, the important theoretical contributions made in this enquiry have been largely ignored by contemporary sociologists, even by those who specialize in the critical study of ideology. This article intends to fill this gap in the literature by illustrating that useful lessons can be learned from Bourdieu and Boltanski’s critical investigation, as it provides crucial insights into the principal characteristics and functions of ideologies, including the ways in which they develop and operate in advanced capitalist societies. The article is divided into two main parts: the first part examines various universal features of ideology; the second part aims to shed light on several particular features of dominant ideology. The paper concludes by arguing that the ‘end of ideology’ thesis, despite the fact that it raises valuable sociological questions, is ultimately untenable.O propósito principal deste artigo é demonstrar a relevância duradoura do conceito de ideologia para a análise sociológica contemporânea. Com isso em vista, o artigo recorre aos argumentos centrais apresentados por Pierre Bourdieu e Luc Boltanski em “La production de l’idéologie dominante” [A produção da ideologia dominante]. As importantes contribuições teóricas dessa investigação têm sido, no entanto, amplamente ignoradas pelos sociólogos contemporâneos, mesmo por aqueles que se especializaram no estudo crítico da ideologia. Este artigo pretende preencher essa lacuna na literatura ao mostrar que lições úteis podem ser aprendidas a partir da investigação crítica de Bourdieu e Boltanski, a qual fornece insights cruciais acerca das características e funções principais das ideologias, incluindo as maneiras pelas quais elas se desenvolvem e operam nas sociedades capitalistas avançadas. O artigo é dividido em duas partes principais: a primeira parte examina vários aspectos universais da ideologia; a segunda parte procura lançar luz sobre diversos aspectos particulares da ideologia dominante. O artigo conclui argumentando que a tese do “fim da ideologia”, apesar de levantar questões sociológicas valiosas, é em última instância insustentável

Poder y anti-poder (IV-V)

This work is a critical analysis of the notions of power and anti-power. The study is divided into five parts. The first part examines the relation between power and anti-power in epistemological terms, showing that the moment of negation represents a crucial element in the construction of critical thought. The second part offers a brief revision of classical Marxist theory, which interprets the concepts of power and anti-power mainly in relation to the concept of structure. The third part suggests that it is necessary to overcome the limitations of classical theories of power in order to recognise that both the strength of power and the strength of anti-power depend on their capacity to penetrate our subjectivity. The fourth part argues that a critical theory of power and anti-power must account for the destructive force of alienation if it seeks to comprehend the quotidian reality of domination. The fifth part explores the importance of the dialectics between power and anti-power for the possibility of social revolution