Beyond the Aporias of Proceduralism
Towards an Axiological Integration of Discourse Ethics
Schlagwörter:
Value-particularism; Norm-universalism; Thin theory of the good; Rational agency; Value of humanity.Abstract
The aim of this paper is to highlight the limits of discourse ethics’ self-interpretation in procedural terms, by suggesting an integration of Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas’ moral theories with the intention to justify and articulate a thin conception of the good, which would make it both possible to guide and to ground the process of discursive justification of moral norms. I will propose first of all, following some authoritative voices in the debate, an immanent critique of Habermas’ thesis of the compatibility of norm-(or moral-)universalism and value-(or ethical-)particularism, arguing for the necessity of some form of ethical universalism. In this way it will be possible to provide a universal conception of the good that is both sufficiently formal to be universally accepted and sufficiently substantial to give an orientation to human action. I will argue, following a suggestion from Charles Taylor, that such a theory of the good could be found by reflecting on the tacit presuppositions of discourse ethics itself, and justified through a radicalisation of Apel’s ultimate foundation. Such a radicalisation consists in using Apel’s transcendental-pragmatic way of arguing in order to justify the value of human existence as a rational form of life. In light of this, and following some hints made by Habermas himself as well as by Christine Korsgaard, I will try to sketch a conception of the highest good that could explain what a worthy or good life consists in, focusing on the role played in it by the exercise of practical reason.
Literaturhinweise
Apel, K.-O. (1986). Estudios éticos. Barcelona: Alfa.
Apel, K.-O. (1992). Etica della comunicazione. Milano: Jaca Books.
Apel, K.-O. (1993). Das Anliegen des anglo-amerikanischen ‘Kommunitarismus’ in der Sicht der Diskursethik. Worin liegen die ‘kommunitӓren’ Bedingungen der Möglichkeit einer postkonventionellen Identitӓt der Vernunftperson?. In M. Brumlik, & H. Brunkhorst (Eds.), Gemeinschaft und Gerechtigkeit (pp. 149-172). Frankfurt am Main: Fischer.
Apel, K.-O. (1998). Auseinandersetzungen in Erprobung des transzendentalpragmatischen Ansatzes. Frankfurt an Main: Suhrkamp.
Apel, K.-O. (1999). Globalisierung und das Problem der Begründung einer universalen Ethik. In K.-J. Kuschel, A. Pinzani, & M. Zillinger (Eds.), Ein Ethos für eine Welt. Globalisierung als ethische Herausforderung (pp. 48-75). Frankfurt an Main: Campus.
Apel, K.-O., (1994). Anderssein, ein Menschenrecht?. In H. Hoffman, & D. Kramer (Eds.), Anderssein, ein Menschenrecht. Über die Vereinbarkeit universaler Normen mit kultureller und ethnischer Besonderheit (pp. 9-20). Weinheim: Beltz-Athenӓum.
Benhabib, S. (1989). Autonomy, Modernity, Community. Communitarianism and Critical Social Theory in Dialogue. In A. Honneth et al. (Eds.), Zwischenbetrachtungen - Im Prozeß der Aufklärung. Jürgen Habermas zum 60. Geburtstag (pp. 373-394). Frankfurt M.: Suhrkamp.
Ferrara, A. (1994). Riflessioni critiche sull’etica del discorso. Fenomenologia e Società 1, 28-47.
Ferrara, A. (1998). Reflective Authenticity. Rethinking the Project of Modernity. London: Routledge.
Forst, R. (2007). The Right to Justification. Elements of a Constructivist Theory of Justice. New York: Columbia University Press.
Gewirth, A. (1998). Self-fulfillment. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Habermas, J. (1984). The Theory of Communicative Action (Vol. 1). Boston: Beacon Press.
Habermas, J. (1990). Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Polity Press.
Habermas, J. (1991). Erläuterungen zur Diskursethik, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Habermas, J. (1996). Between Facts and Norms. Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Habermas, J. (1998a). The Inclusion of the Other. Studies in Political Theory. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Habermas, J. (1998b). Reply to Symposium Participants, Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School. In M. Rosenfeld, & A. Arato (Eds.), Habermas on Law and Democracy: Critical Exchanges (pp. 381-452). Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Habermas, J. (2003a). The Future of Human Nature. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Habermas, J. (2003b). Norms and Values. On Hilary Putnam’s Kantian Pragmatism. In J. Habermas, Truth and Justification (pp. 213-236). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Habermas, J. (2004). “The Moral and the Ethical: A Reconsideration of the Issue of the Priority of the Right over the Good”, in R. J. Bernstein, S. Benhabib, & N. Fraser (eds.), Pragmatism, Critique, Judgment: Essays for Richard J. Bernstein (pp. 29-44). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press,.
Honneth, A. (1986). Diskursethik und implizites Gerechtigkeitskonzept. Eine Diskussionsbemerkung. In W. Kuhlmann (Ed.), Moralität und Sittlichkeit: Das Problem Hegels und die Diskursethik (pp. 183-194). Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Katsafanas, P. (2018). Constitutivism about Practical Reasons. In D. Star (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Reasons and Normativity (pp. 367-394). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Korsgaard, C. (1996). The Sources of Normativity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Korsgaard, C. (2008). Aristotle’s Function Argument. In C. Korsgaard, The Constitution of Agency: Essays on Practical Reason and Moral Psychology (pp. 129-150). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McCarthy, Th. (1991). Practical Discourse: On the Relation of Morality to Politics. In Th. McCarthy, Ideals and Illusions: on Reconstruction and Deconstruction in Contemporary Critical Theory (pp. 181-199). Cambridge: MIT Press.
Putnam, H. (2002). Values and Norms. In H. Putnam, The Collapse of Fact/Value Dichotomy and Other Essays (pp. 111-134). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Seel, M. (1995). Versuch über die Form des Glücks. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Taylor, C. (1989). Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Taylor, C. (1992). Language and Society. In A. Honneth, & H. Joas (Eds.), Communicative Action. Essays on J. Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action (pp. 23-35). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Taylor, C. (1993). The Motivation behind a Procedural Ethics. In R. Beiner, & W. J. Booth (Eds.), Kant and Political Philosophy: The Contemporary Legacy (pp. 337-360). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Downloads
Veröffentlicht
Ausgabe
Rubrik
Lizenz
Copyright (c) 2021 Linda Lovelli
Dieses Werk steht unter der Lizenz Creative Commons Namensnennung - Nicht-kommerziell - Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 International.
- Los autores/as conservarán sus derechos de autor y garantizarán a la revista el derecho de primera publicación de su obra, el cuál estará simultáneamente sujeto a la Licencia: Creative Commons BY–NC-SA 4.0 que permite a terceros compartir la obra siempre que se indique su autor y su primera publicación esta revista.
- Los autores/as podrán adoptar otros acuerdos de licencia no exclusiva de distribución de la versión de la obra publicada (p. ej.: depositarla en un archivo telemático institucional o publicarla en un volumen monográfico) siempre que se indique la publicación inicial en esta revista.
- Se permite y recomienda a los autores/as difundir su obra a través de Internet (p. ej.: en archivos telemáticos institucionales o en su página web) antes y durante el proceso de envío, lo cual puede producir intercambios interesantes y aumentar las citas de la obra publicada. (Véase El efecto del acceso abierto).
