The Philosophy Book

307

See also: Jeremy Bentham 174 ■ Karl Marx 196–203 ■ Theodor Adorno 266–67 ■ Edgar Morin 338 ■
Niklas Luhmann 339 ■ Noam Chomsky 304–05 ■ Edward Said 321

CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY

By establishing a public sphere, we
also open up more opportunities for
recognizing that we have interests
in common with other private
individuals—interests that the
state may fail to serve. This can
lead to questioning the actions of
the state. Habermas believes that
the growth of the public sphere
helped to trigger the French
Revolution in 1789.
The expansion of the public
sphere, from the 18th century
onward, has led to a growth of
democratically elected political
institutions, independent courts,
and bills of rights. But Habermas
believes that many of these brakes
on the arbitrary use of power are
now under threat. Newspapers, for
example, can offer opportunities
for reasoned dialogue between
private individuals, but if the press
is controlled by large corporations,
such opportunities may diminish.
Informed debate on issues of
substance is replaced with
celebrity gossip, and we are
transformed from critical, rational
agents into mindless consumers. ■

Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas grew up in

Germany under the Nazi regime.

His realization that “we had been

living in a criminal system”,

following the Nuremburg trials

(1945–46), was to have a lasting

effect on his philosophy.

On completing his doctorate in

1954, he studied with members of

the Frankfurt School, including

Max Horkheimer and Theodor

Adorno. During the 1960s and

1970s, he lectured at universities

in Bonn and Gottingen. In 1982, he

became Professor of Philosophy at

the University at Frankfurt, where

he taught until his retirement in

1993. More recently, Habermas
      has himself taken an active role
      in the public sphere, entering
      into debates on Holocaust denial
      and global terrorism.

Key works

1962 The Structural

Transformation of the

Public Sphere

1981 The Theory of

Communicative Action

1985 The Philosophical

Discourse of Modernity

2005 Between Naturalism

and Religion

A society’s traditions are

not necessarily in the best

interests of individuals.

...builds

consensus.

Individuals need to be

able to question and

change these traditions.

They can do this by reasoningtogether

in the publicsphere, which...

Society is dependent upon a

criticism of its own traditions.

...brings about

change.

...strengthens

society.