Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action II. Presentation by Tabea Hirzel

1. Habermas’ Theory of
Communicative Action II
By Tabea Hirzel

2. Rupture
Crisis
TranslationTransformation
Understanding
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel

3. Understanding
Habermas: Universal
understanding = truth
Understanding always
subjective = truth
intersubjective
phenomenon
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel

4. Rupture
Habermas: through contextual
application, caused by lack of (individual)
consciousness and solidarity (recognition
of a sameness)
Recognition of objective truth is
incomplete
Rupture is a symptome of the problem
Can be solved by progressive higher
knowledge of truth
Hey!
Universal understanding is an
illusion.
Truth is not understanding.
Truth is a phenomenon that is
created by pluralistic truth-claims
Rupture is the very process of life
Is not solved as long live goes on
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel

5. Crisis
Habermas: Caused by
the encounter with
new arguments
The rupture is due to
lack in rationality,
knowledge and
understanding
Caused by nominal
individuality
The rupture is an
opportunity for a
learning process +
A risk for failure
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel

6. Translation
Habermas: Where two
arguments colide they
are translated into a
higher abstraction
(substant category) 
which gives insight into
a larger field of truth/
deeper understanding
Categories are
provisional
idealizations of
substance,
phaenomena of the
mind’s learning
process. Their
definition shifts with
every new noun in the
set.
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel

7. Transformation
Habermas:
Communicative action
integrates new
particules into a set
Is an empancipative
action of the individual
Communicative action
transforms the
identity of the set
Is an emanzipative
action of the indiviual
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel

8. Moral theory
• Deontological: act right
because it is universally
good (epistemological)
• Cognitive: mental-
epistemological
• Formalistic
• Universalistic (territorial)
• realist
• Progressive-evolutionary
Threefold good:
What is good for me
What is good for us
What is good for them (prescriptive, tribal morality)
 Ontological impossibility to define the right in universal
terms
Cognitive: existential-ontological
Formalistic
Nominalistic
Irrealist (Nelson Goodman, Tondino – pluralistic reality)
Materialistic
Fatalistic-evolutionary
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel

9. Problems with Consiousness & Identity
• Remarks on Hegel
• Marx: «Between equal rights force decides»
© 2010 Tabea Hirzel