The Speculative Philosophy of History and Normativity: Habermas’ Middle Period Public

Spera, Rebekah (Summer 2020)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/j38608134?locale=fr
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Abstract

The question of reason’s relationship to history poses a challenge for critical theory. If reason or rationality emerges out an historical process and is historically conditioned, not guaranteed metaphysically, on what normative and theoretical basis can present conditions be criticized as “irrational”? Critical theory must be able to posit something beyond what is merely given in the present historical moment without claiming to stand outside of history. The philosophy of history as a philosophical concept does not receive much attention, either from critical theorists or contemporary philosophers in general. It is usually taken for granted that however a critical theory tries to solve the difficulties raised by reason’s relationship to history, it can and must do so without a philosophy of history.

This dissertation is a revisitation of the role that philosophy of history plays in orienting the tasks and scope of critical theory through an examination of the middle period of Jürgen Habermas’ philosophical development. I make the case that Habermas’ split from his former mentors at the Frankfurt school marked by the Theory of Communicative Action ought to be understood as an attempt to resolve the dilemma posed by reason’s relationship to history without depending a speculative philosophy of history for its normative grounding. Through an analysis of his writings on historical materialism in the 1970s, I argue that Habermas not only has a philosophy of history, but that the philosophy of history does essential normative work for him and ultimately determines the orientation—and limitations—of his vision of critical theory. Habermas’ reformulation of critical theory on the basis of his theory of modernity shows the stubborn difficulty facing anyone undertaking the task of formulating a basis for normative critique while avoiding relying upon a philosophy of history. What the case of Habermas suggests, I conclude, is that there is something that critical theory has not yet satisfactorily resolved concerning the relationship between history and reason. It is necessary for critical theory to reapproach the philosophy of history as an open question.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………….…………1

Chapter 1: What is the Speculative Philosophy of History?

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..7

Part 1: A Genealogical Account of the Speculative Philosophy of History…….……8

Part 2: Speculative versus Analytic Philosophy of History …………………............12

Part 3: Why the Speculative Philosophy of History?...................................................22

Concluding Remarks…………………………………………………………...…….29

Chapter 2: The Speculative Philosophy of History and Critical Theory

Introduction…………………………………………..………………………………32

Part 1: The TCA as the Crossroads of Critical Theory……………………………….36

Part 2: Habermas and the DOE…………………………………………………….…40

Part 3: The DOE in the TCA………………………………………………………….44

Part 4: Habermas Revisiting the DOE………………………………………………..55

Concluding Remarks …………………………………………………………………62

Chapter 3: The Philosophy of History in the Theory of Communicative Action

Introduction………………………………………………………………..………….64

Part 1: The Reconstructive Method…………………………………………………..68

Part 2: Reconstruction, Ontogenesis and Phylogenesis……………………………....70

Part 3: The Developmental Model of Social Evolution………………………………75

Part 4: Directionality and Progress……………………………………………………77

Part 5: The Evolution of Society and Its Future………………………………………82

Concluding Remarks ………………………………………………………………....86

Chapter 4: The Hidden Philosophy of History and Critical Theory’s New Tasks

Introduction……………………………………………………………………...……91

Part 1: CES and Habermas’ Critical Project………………………………………….92

Part 2: The Role of Philosophy……………………………………………………….99

Chapter 5: The Philosophy of History in Habermas’ Later Philosophy

Introduction………………………………………………………..…………………108

Part 1: Between Facts and Norms………………………………………………...….109

Part 2: System Complexity…………………………………………………………...117

Part 3: The Lifeworld………………………………………………………………...123

Concluding Remarks………………………………………………………………....134

Coda……………………………………………………………………….137

Bibliography………………………...…………………………………….140

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