THE HABERMAS-RAWLS DEBATE

Book Details

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

• Author: James Gordon Finlayson

• Language: English

• Binding: Hardcover

• Number of Pages: 312

• Release Date: 11-06-2024

• ISBN: 9788131613795

About the Book

Jürgen Habermas and John Rawls stand as two of the most influential figures in social and political philosophy from the second half of the twentieth century. Their famous exchange in the Journal of Philosophy during the 1990s centered on differing views of democracy, legitimacy, and justice in contemporary society. This debate not only reflected the divergence in their approaches but also showcased how major thinkers from different intellectual traditions interpret and sometimes misinterpret one another’s ideas.

In this book, James Gordon Finlayson offers a comprehensive analysis of the Habermas-Rawls debate, beginning with the earliest stages of their intellectual conflict and extending through their exchange in 1995 and its aftermath. Finlayson examines the implications of this debate for contemporary political theory and its continuing relevance today. He closely analyzes Rawls’s Political Liberalism and Habermas’s Between Facts and Norms, using these works as a framework to explore their differing views on justice, politics, legitimacy, individual rights, and the role of law in democratic societies.

Finlayson goes on to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each thinker’s approach to political theory, focusing on their views on democracy, religion, public reason, and the authority of the state. The book presents an insightful and detailed explication of the ongoing importance of the Habermas-Rawls debate in shaping contemporary discussions in political philosophy.

Contents

• Introduction: Much Ado About Nothing

• I. The Early Debate

  • Two Nonrival Theories of Justice

  • Habermas's Early Criticisms of Rawls

• II. Habermas's and Rawls's Mature Political Theories

  • Habermas's Between Facts and Norms

  • Rawls's Political Liberalism

• III. The Exchange

  • Habermas's "Reconciliation Through the Public Use of Reason"

  • Rawls's "Reply to Habermas"

  • "'Reasonable' Versus 'True'": Habermas's Reply to Rawls's "Reply"

• IV. The Legacy of the Habermas–Rawls Debate

  • Religion Within the Bounds of Public Reason Alone

About the Author

James Gordon Finlayson is a Reader in Philosophy and the Director of the Centre for Social and Political Thought at the University of Sussex. He has authored numerous articles on post-Kantian philosophy and critical theory. His other notable works include Habermas: A Very Short Introduction (2005), and he is the editor of Habermas and Rawls: Disputing the Political (2011).