Jurgen HabermasThis German philosopher is said by some to be the last modernist and the last social critic to advance Enlightenment ideals. Under constant attack, his work nonetheless remains influential. He is invoked here for two tactical reasons:1. In general, Habermas' work, whether intentional or not, provides theoretical underpinnings for the positions taken in Good Reasons. Good Reasons is an intensely practical book, but it is not technocratically reductive. The skills and techniques it teaches align well with such contemporary currents in moral philosophy and thereby deserve our enlarged appreciation. 2. In particular, two of Habermas' ideas are especially relevant to Good Reasons: the public sphere (a precious but endangered and shrinking space wherein argument about public policy takes place) and communicative action (the hopeful belief that language use and intelligibility are predicated on the possibility of universality and truth). Both these notions justify the pedagogical effort represented by Faigley and Selzer's project. The collection of Habermas links is a good resource for more information. |