Social media have taken over our lives. In this thesis I contend that social media platforms should be seen as new digital public spheres. The potentiality of social media platforms is unparalleled...Show moreSocial media have taken over our lives. In this thesis I contend that social media platforms should be seen as new digital public spheres. The potentiality of social media platforms is unparalleled. Exploring and expanding on Habermas’s ground-breaking book The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, I showcase what we can learn from Habermas’s ideal of the public sphere in our contemporary digital society. As the democratic potentiality of social media platforms is unparalleled, we ought to structure it in a Habermasian manner by respecting inclusiveness, equality and using it for discussions about public affairs. If we fail to do so and not explicitly and actively redesign our online environments, both our online and offline lives are prone to appallingly harmful effects. I conclude with suggestions of how we can restructure and redesign social media platforms to be at the service of, instead of thwarting, both our individual lives and our democracy.Show less
This thesis investigates Habermas's approach to the role of religious reasons in public deliberation. A critique of Habermas's theory is developed along three lines. First, it is argued that...Show moreThis thesis investigates Habermas's approach to the role of religious reasons in public deliberation. A critique of Habermas's theory is developed along three lines. First, it is argued that Habermas's work oversimplifies religious reasons by treating 'religious reasons as a singular phenomenon. Thereby, Habermas underplaying the diversity of ways people practice religion. Second, this thesis argues that the translation of religious reasons to the language of public administration might prove harder than Habermas presents it. Third, Habermas's claim to have developed a 'postmetaphysical' theory fails to convince, as Habermas makes fundamental metaphysical assumptions. This undermines the neutral character of his account of religion in the public sphere. This thesis suggests an alternative approach may be available in the literature: instead of distinguishing between religious and non-religious reasons, we should distinguish authoritarian and non-authoritarian reasons. This preserves the deliberative spirit of Habermas's project, while more accurately filtering out the modes of reasoning that are unhelpful for advancing constructive deliberation.Show less
In “The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion” (2006) wordt de discussie tussen Jürgen Habermas en de Paus Benedictus XVI weergegeven, waarin zij naar gemeenschappelijke grond zoeken...Show moreIn “The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion” (2006) wordt de discussie tussen Jürgen Habermas en de Paus Benedictus XVI weergegeven, waarin zij naar gemeenschappelijke grond zoeken in hun betrokkenheid met het welzijn van de geseculariseerde liberale Westerse democratische samenleving. Voortbouwend op deze betekenisvolle dialoog breng ik Habermas opnieuw in gesprek met de “belichaming van Katholieke orthodoxie”, deze keer in de persoon van Thomas Aquinas. Het doel van mijn onderzoek is het beantwoorden van de vraag: In hoeverre kan een democratische deugdenleer die gebaseerd is op de Christelijke filosofie van Aquino als aanvulling dienen voor de normatieve gebreken van de moderne seculiere liberale democratische samenleving? Deze vraag beantwoord ik voornamelijk aan de hand van Aquino’s verhandelingen over het koningschap en over de wet, enkele essays van Habermas, het debat tussen Habermas en Benedictus XVI en Jennifer Herdt’s analyse van democratische deugden. Overeenkomstig met Aquino’s waarschuwingen voor tirannie beweert Habermas dat de liberale democratie middels doorgevoerde secularisering onder de heerschappij van het decisionistische model van een verzelfstandigde marktwerking is beland. Dit culmineert volgens hem in een maatschappij waarin de technische rationaliteit in naam van waardevrijheid haar eigen waardesysteem dicteert. Habermas roept daarom op tot de toepassing van politieke deugden als geneesmiddel voor de afbrekende maatschappelijke eenheid. Jennifer Herdt biedt hier een praktische invulling voor in de vorm van democratische deugden, die gebaseerd zijn op Thomistische deugdenleer. Hoewel Aquino geen voorstander was van democratie, hoeft dat volgens Habermas en Herdt niet te betekenen dat zijn gedachtegoed onbruikbaar is binnen de seculiere democratie. Zowel Christelijke als niet-Christelijke burgers kunnen vergelijkbare (burger)deugden inzetten om gemeenschappelijke doeleinden na te streven, zonder elkaars interpretaties van het gemeenschappelijk goede te devalueren. Zodoende kan het gebruik van hun gedeelde normatieve erfgoed democratie bevorderen en normatieve stabiliteit in een pluralistische samenleving in stand houden. Dit verzoek tot civiele samenwerking vormt een eerste stap richting de herwaardering van deugden en een herstel van een gefragmenteerde samenleving.Show less
This thesis explores Habermas's ideas on the inherent tension between the rule of law and popular sovereignty. Habermas proposes a solution to this tension by introducing his theory of co...Show moreThis thesis explores Habermas's ideas on the inherent tension between the rule of law and popular sovereignty. Habermas proposes a solution to this tension by introducing his theory of co-originality. This thesis studies Habermas's account of the tension between facticity and validity and his proposal of how law can serve as a bridge between the two principles. This thesis also provides a critical assessment of Habermas's theory by studying two specific criticisms of Habermas's theory of co-originality. This thesis ends with the conclusion that Habermas's theory is coherent, but it is not entirely convincing.Show less
Post-truth politics influences and challenges democracies around the world. Yet, influential political theories like Habermas’s seem unequipped to deal with it, as they are based on the premise...Show morePost-truth politics influences and challenges democracies around the world. Yet, influential political theories like Habermas’s seem unequipped to deal with it, as they are based on the premise that power is necessarily truth-sensitive. In this thesis I have confronted post-truth politics, defined as the phenomenon in which discourses that are unconcerned with truth still are power-bestowing, with Habermas' theory of communicative action. In doing so, I argue that that there is power beyond (reference to) truth. The everyday phenomenon of post-truth discourses is thus used to assess the implicit premises in our thinking, so that eventually better solutions to deal with the problems of post-truth politics can be found.Show less
This thesis is about the ‘Foucault-Habermas-debate’ in the sense that this thesis is an attempt to finish the debate between Michael Foucault and Jurgen Habermas which actually had not taken place....Show moreThis thesis is about the ‘Foucault-Habermas-debate’ in the sense that this thesis is an attempt to finish the debate between Michael Foucault and Jurgen Habermas which actually had not taken place. Habermas had criticized Foucault in the The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity but this work was published in 1985 after Foucault’s death. In this thesis I shall investigate to what extent the critique of Habermas on Foucault’s method of genealogy and his view on power and the subject, hold. In the first chapter of the thesis I am going to explain Foucault method of genealogy, his theory of the prison and his view on power. In the second chapter of the thesis I shall discuss some arguments of Habermas against Foucault’s method of genealogy and his view on power. In the third chapter of the thesis I shall defend Foucault against Habermas. In this part I will argue that Habermas misinterpreted Foucault on some points and that Foucault is able to reply to Habermas’ critique. Finally I conclude that Habermas critique on Foucault does not hold and that Foucault is ‘the winner’ of the debate.Show less
In zijn werk 'The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere' beschrijft Jürgen Habermas hoe er in de 18de en 19de eeuw een bourgeois publieke sfeer ontstond in Duitsland, Frankrijk en Groot...Show moreIn zijn werk 'The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere' beschrijft Jürgen Habermas hoe er in de 18de en 19de eeuw een bourgeois publieke sfeer ontstond in Duitsland, Frankrijk en Groot-Brittannië. In deze scriptie wordt, aan de hand van Benjamin Franklin, gekeken of in Brits koloniaal Amerika deze sfeer ook voet aan de grond kreeg.Show less
