Habermas is the second generation representative of Frankfurt School, an important school of western Marxism. His works are rich and dozens have been published so far. The main representative works are: Structural Change in Public Affairs, Theory and Practice, Knowledge and Human Purport, Technology and Science as Ideology, Logic of Social Science, Crisis of Legitimacy, Culture and Criticism, Reconstruction of Historical Materialism, Communication and Social Evolution, Theory of Communicative Action and Theory of Communicative Action.
Habermas's thought has generally experienced the following stages of development:
1. Pre-coital period (1959- 1968)
The research theme is the historical analysis of the bourgeois public sphere and the historical reconstruction of epistemology. Habermas put forward the concept of critical science through critical positivism and historicism.
2. Communication period (1969- 198 1)
From the perspective of reconstructing historical materialism, Habermas initially completed the establishment of a theoretical system of communicative behavior as a social critical theory.
3. Post-communication stage (1982- 1989)
During this period, Habermas mainly devoted himself to the historical clearing of the category of modernity and the criticism of metaphysical thought, in order to resist postmodernism, expounded a "post-metaphysical thought" based on the linguistic turn, and made a meta-argument on the theory of communicative behavior from two angles: the history of thought and the criticism of metaphysics.
4. Reflection period (1990-2000)
In 1990s, Habermas began to consciously push the theory of communicative behavior into the fields of political philosophy and legal philosophy. By criticizing the political essence of liberalism and communitarianism, Habermas advocated the establishment of a new discourse political model and the reconstruction of democratic system with proceduralism.
Habermas, with his complex and profound thoughts and grand and complete system, is recognized as "the most influential thinker in the contemporary era" and even known as "contemporary Hegel", which occupies a decisive position in western academic circles.
Habermas's ideological characteristics are mainly manifested in the following aspects:
1, the first one is controversial. After Habermas entered the academic field, he constantly challenged various ideological lines and set off one academic debate after another. Worthy of attention: the methodological dispute with Popper and Gadamer; Debate with Foucault's modernity; The metaphysical dispute with Henrik; Historical dispute with Nolte; Debate with Ruman's social theory, Rawls' normative democracy, and Slote Dijak's genetic technology.
2, followed by comprehensiveness. Habermas is an outstanding master of synthesis. He organically combined different ideological lines and theoretical categories, such as Marxism with spiritual lines and theoretical categories, such as Marxism with psychoanalysis, German idealism with American pragmatism, and philosophical transcendentalism with philosophical empiricism.
3. Third, systematic. Habermas attaches great importance to the construction of his own theoretical system. For a long time, he gradually established and improved his theoretical system of communicative behavior from the perspectives of methodology, epistemology, philosophy of language, sociology, aesthetics, politics and law, and tried to systematically reconstruct Marxism, especially the critical theory of Frankfurt School, from a normative perspective.
4. Finally, it is practical. Although Habermas is an academic thinker, he attaches great importance to the practicality of his thoughts. Since 1968, Habermas has actively participated in the "student movement" and has been exerting great influence in the field of German political practice. For example, in the German election of 1998, Habermas made a lot of stationery for the Social Democratic Party at a critical moment, which provided theoretical support. In addition, in the 1990s, Habermas led his disciples to form a political club with a group of politicians represented by Fischer, then Minister of Environment of Hesse (now German Foreign Minister), and held political salons regularly to discuss major issues at home and abroad from the perspective of political philosophy, which laid a theoretical foundation for Fischer's foreign policy. For example, Fischer's recent package of proposals on EU reform is intrinsically related to Habermas's discourse and political model.
Since the early 1980s, Habermas's works have been translated into Chinese and published, which has a great influence on the academic circles in China. Up to now, Habermas' published and forthcoming works in China mainly include: Collected Works of Habermas by Shanghai People's Publishing House (six volumes), Communicative Behavior and Facts and Value Theory by Sanlian Bookstore, Post-Metaphysical Thought by Yilin Publishing House, Structural Transformation of Public Sphere and Cognition and Interest by Lin Xue Publishing House, etc.
Undeniably, Habermas' communicative behavior, as a post-Marxist theory, does have problems of universalism, eclecticism and western centralism, which deserves our in-depth analysis and criticism. However, Habermas's attempt to develop Marxism, especially his attempt to combine classical Marxist theory with the practice of late capitalist society, deserves our serious attention. For example, his thorough analysis of the legitimacy crisis of late capitalism, the reconstruction of historical materialism, the historical carding of the category of nation-state, and the serious thinking on the arrangement of democratic system and the confirmation of citizenship in the context of globalization are all enlightening.
1June, 929 18 was born in Dü sseldorf.
Habermas grew up in Nazi Germany and didn't become radical until the late 1950s. He worked as Adorno's assistant, and under the influence of Adorno (and others), he realized the extreme importance of Marx and Freud's theories for political science and social science. After teaching philosophy in Heidelberg (1961-1964), he became a professor of philosophy and sociology at Frankfurt University. 1972 transferred to Max in Steinberg, West Germany. Planck society. Although his career is the same as that of Frankfurt School, his thoughts developed in a completely different framework from the main representatives of this school (Adorno, Hawke Hamor and Marcuse). For example, Adorno thinks that knowledge and value have no ultimate foundation, while Habermas insists that the basic problem (that is, the problem of providing a reliable and standard foundation for critical theory) can be solved, and he is also very concerned about the development of the philosophical pillar of critical theory. This involves the reconstruction of some central propositions of classical Greek philosophy and German philosophy, the inseparability of truth and morality, the inseparability of facts and values, and the inseparability of theory and practice. His ultimate goal is to establish such a framework, which can absorb many obviously competitive methods in social science research, including ideological criticism, action theory, social system analysis and evolution theory.
For Habermas, the necessity of re-formulating critical theory is determined by the historical development of the 20th century. The Russian revolution has degenerated into Stalinism, the mass revolution has failed in the west so far, the proletariat has no revolutionary class consciousness, and Marxist theory often disintegrates-either it becomes a deterministic objective science or it becomes a pessimistic cultural criticism, all of which are regarded by Habermas as important features of the present era. In addition, he also asserted that many fundamental changes are taking place in capitalist society. State intervention is strengthening, the market is maintaining and restoring, capitalism is becoming more and more organized, the rationality of tools (this rationality only refers to taking appropriate means to achieve the intended purpose) and bureaucracy threaten the "public sphere" (referring to the field where citizens openly discuss political life), and the new crisis tendency is threatening the legitimacy of social and political order.
In order to deal with these problems, Habermas developed a theoretical policy, which can be linked with various disciplines of social science and humanities. Up to now, his most basic contributions are: historical discussion on the formation and disintegration of public affairs (see bibliography), investigation on the position of modern science and technology in capitalist society (see bibliography), formulation of philosophical framework for critical theory (see bibliography) and development of action theory (see bibliography).
philology
1 special? Habermas: Structural Changes in Public Activities, German Edition 1962.
② Same as above: theory and practice (1963), English version 1974.
③ ditto author: Towards a Reasonable Society (1968), English version 1970.
④ Same as above: knowledge and people's interests (1968), English version 197 1.
⑤ Same as above: legitimacy crisis (1973), English version 1976.
⑥ Same as above: Communication and Social Evolution, English version 1976, reproduced in 1979.
7 Same as above: Communication Theory, German version 198 1.
8 David? Held: Introduction to Critical Theory —— From Hawke Hammer to Habermas, English version 1980.
Pet-name ruby Thomas? McCarthy: You are here? Habermas's critical theory, English version 1978.
Attending John? Thompson and David? Hold ed. Habermas-critical debate, English version 1982.
Habermas is the last critical theorist of Frankfurt School. As Mr. Hu said, Habermas is the only master of communication in the world today. Although this book is not in the reading list opened by Mr. Hu, I have read the masterpiece "Structural Transformation in Public * * *" with reverence and benefited a lot. I would like to share my opinion with you: (1) How to understand the public * * * field (2).
What is the public domain?
The public sphere refers to the public space between the state and society, where citizens can freely express their opinions without state intervention, which is one of the spaces in which the media operates.
The public sphere belongs to the research scope of cultural policy in cultural research. Habermas believes that the concept of "public sphere" originated from the political meeting in Athens Square during slavery, when free people had the right to participate in democratic discussions. It can be seen that the public sphere is based on free expression and free dialogue, which is completely different from the private sphere.
The research object of "structural transformation of public sphere"
The research object of Structural Transformation of Public Sector is the bourgeois public sector in the liberal model, which refers to cafes, newspapers, libraries, universities and museums at that time. "Their interest in reading mainly focused on recent publications at that time. With the emergence of such a reading public, a relatively close communication network has been formed between the public and the people. [1] "In these places, people communicate on an equal footing, discuss freely and make decisions according to the principle that the minority is subordinate to the majority. Based on sociology and history, Habermas discusses the history of the emergence, development and disintegration of the bourgeois public sector under the liberal model, as well as its social structure, political function, ideas and ideology. For example, on public and private issues, Habermas believes that people's roles in the private sphere are parents, husband and wife, brothers and sisters and friends; In the field of public affairs, people's roles are citizens, and they act according to their rights and obligations. Habermas insists that the public is about the extensive interaction of citizens, and "public" only exists between the positive exchange of opinions, opinions and information and the communication with citizens.
Habermas believes that after the bourgeoisie gained independence in social and economic activities, the state and society began to separate. In the relationship between the state and the public, the state retreats into the political society, only takes charge of political affairs and leaves social and cultural life to the society. Hall also said that18th century countries had no full-time police and no standing army. /kloc-the country in the 0/9th century is not the owner of the enterprise, nor does it have the right to guide university education, let alone be responsible for the country's economic policies. Under the ideal democratic politics, the state can only assume the role of guarantor in the public sphere under the constraint of law, and it is the right organ to protect freedom. The state can only guarantee and provide the operating conditions of the public sector, but it cannot interfere. For example, you can provide funds for the media and universities, but you can't interfere with the affairs of the media and universities. Habermas thinks this is an ideal public sphere model, which embodies the bourgeois ideal: to establish an integrated society with democracy, equal participation and free discussion.
However, the development of capitalism has destroyed this public sphere. In the second half of Structural Transformation of Public Sector, Habermas focuses on the transformation of bourgeois public sector. /kloc-at the end of 0/9, the development of capitalist economy in monopoly capitalism led to the imbalance of wealth distribution, which in turn led to the inequality of entering and controlling the public sector. The integration trend of public and private spheres has changed from a clear distinction between public and private spheres to a national social integration. Due to the intervention of the state, the separation between the state and society disappeared.
Public sphere and media
Habermas pointed out that the mutual integration of state and economy deprived the foundation of the relationship between bourgeois private law and liberal constitution, and the state and private individuals began to control the media, which led to the "re-feudalization" of the public sphere: "With the intensive commercialization and communication network, with the continuous investment of capital and the improvement of the organization of propaganda institutions, the communication channels have been strengthened, and the opportunity to enter public places is facing increasing pressure of choice. In this way, a new category of influence has emerged, and that is media power. The media with manipulative power deprived the neutrality of the principle of openness. The mass media has influenced the structure of the public sphere, but also dominated it. As a result, the public sphere has developed into an arena without rights. ...
Obviously, in Habermas' view, the democratic function of the media has been declining since18th century. In the18th century, the role of news is to turn personal opinions into public opinions. For example, newspapers are members of the public who can participate in free discussion and interfere in political affairs. Through public discussion and debate in newspapers, the media has accelerated the process of democratic politics. However, with the rise of monopoly capitalism, newspapers are increasingly manipulated by ideology and controlled by bourgeois interests. Media groups colluding with the state have replaced public discourse with their political interests, and citizens' democratic rights have also been damaged. Public opinion is no longer the discussion process of words, but the result of media manipulation. The public domain is controlled by advertising media technology.
If we say that in Habermas' ideal field of public affairs, the society exchanges opinions, questions or reaches a consensus through public media, then the "re-feudalization" of public affairs obviously aggravates the inequality of contemporary culture. After marketization, countries that control capital to the greatest extent, such as the United States, and groups such as CNN, also control global public opinion to the greatest extent. It is difficult for developing countries in the third world to have the right to speak in their own public sphere. Market society is eliminating cultural differences and re-creating social inequality through the market in its unique way.
Limitations of structural transformation of public sector
(1) People who enter Habermas' field are bourgeois, not civilians, so Habermas is not universal in terms of citizen representation. The bourgeois public sphere system is composed of a political and economic privileged group, which meets and associates in small-scale newspapers, salons and cafes, and its personnel are strictly controlled within the bourgeoisie. A plot in the movie Titanic illustrates this point. Jack was invited to have dinner with rich people in the first class because he saved Ross. After the banquet, the men went to the small living room to talk about politics. Jack is just a "civilian", even if he is a hero who saves lives, he can't enter the middle class space. Habermas's bourgeois public sphere, the interests of the bourgeoisie are equal to the interests of the public sphere.
(2) The vagueness and fuzziness of Habermas' theory of public sphere also make Habermas unable to adapt to the diversity of public sphere. For example, as a social and cultural experience, television should undoubtedly increase public culture and public participation. Habermas emphasizes "public communication with reading as the intermediary and communication as the core", and his theory of public communication is based on a discussion between people, which is the basis of Habermas' theoretical analysis. However, today, quite a few public areas do not need the parties to enter in person. The emergence of the Internet, especially email and online chat, provides a place for public discussion in the "global village". The democracy of the Internet is self-evident. Anyone can enter the public domain and get the same information at the same time. "This kind of closed virtual environment built by interpersonal communication and small group communication can basically form synchronous and equal information interaction and provide various participation projects for the audience." In the process of their own creation and information release, the audience constantly experiences freshness and excitement.
1 Habermas: "Structural Transformation in Public Fields", Lin Xue Publishing House, 1999, p. 3.
2 Molly: Television, Audience and Culture, 1996, p. 15.
3 Habermas: "Structural Transformation in Public Fields", Lin Xue Publishing House, 1999, p. 4.
4 Hu Yiqing: Communication: Discipline Crisis and Paradigm Revolution, Capital Normal University Press, 2004, p. 75.