Between Facts & Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law & Democracy

by Jürgen Habermas, William Rehg (Translator)

In Between Facts and Norms, Jürgen Habermas works out the legal and political implications of his Theory of Communicative Action (1981), bringing to fruition the project announced with his publication of The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere in 1962. This new work is a major contribution to recent debates on the rule of law and the possibilities of democracy in postindustrial societies, but it is much more. The introduction by William Rehg succinctly captures the special nature of the work, noting that it offers a sweeping, sociologically informed conceptualization of law and basic rights, a normative account of the rule of law and the constitutional state, an attempt to bridge normative and empirical approaches to democracy, and an account of the social context required for democracy. Finally, the work frames and caps these arguments with a bold proposal for a new paradigm of law that goes beyond the dichotomies that have afflicted modern political theory from its inception and that still underlie current controversies between so-called liberals and civic republicans. The book includes a postscript written in 1994, which restates the argument in light of its initial reception, and two appendixes, which cover key developments that preceded the book. Habermas himself was actively involved in the translation, adapting the text as necessary to make it more accessible to English-speaking readers.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Law, Sociology, Nonfiction, Theory, Political Science

676 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and American pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his work on the concept of the public sphere, the topic of his first book entitled The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. His work focuses on the foundations of social theory and epistemology, the analysis of advanced capitalistic societies and democracy, the rule of law in a critical social-evolutionary context, and contemporary politics—particularly German politics. Habermas's theoretical system is devoted to revealing the possibility of reason, emancipation, and rational-critical communication latent in modern institutions and in the human capacity to deliberate and pursue rational interests.

Reviews

[John Borthwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Habermas is a philosopher that I rarely see getting a lot of credit or discussion, and if I do he is usually being criticized. However his political and sociological work have had a huge impact on me and the way I view civilization and power. So I'm writing a review (1.) to say this is a really good book. And (2.) that I think a lot of the criticism of Habermas comes from misinterpretation.

Habermas's magnum opus, "The Theory of Communicative Action", is a sprawling and difficult work to read. If you are planning on reading "Facts and Norms" you should at least read a summary of that work. The two volumes have been criticized for applying principles in language to political theory that are too abstract to be taken seriously, and creating a theory and standard of communication that is idealistic and unrealistic to impose on social and political institutions. This is where I think the misinterpretation begins. I agree that in his early work his dissection of language can be tedious. However his overarching concept, that language and communication creates a crucial medium for the relation of power structures is a huge idea. From here readers are able to move beyond social ontologies of political institutions, to the utility of their actions through dialogue. I also don't think Habermas is trying to create an ideal language for us to perfectly adhere to. Instead he creates an ontology of communication that allows one to hold institutions such as government, bureaucracy, media etc. to a standard of how they engage with each other and with civil society.

So "Between Facts and Norms" continues the TCA project into discussing what makes democracy and law ideal, and what we as citizens and political bodies should expect from political order. I actually found his later work much more focused and extremely on point. His meditations on law and democracy often fall on binary oppositions and how we define rights, government, leadership, and morals within the democratic framework. How do we decide what is normative vs a certain truth? How do we create universal maxims while remaining in a pluralistic society? Do we as citizens take a conservative view and see ourselves as agents for the state? Or do we take a liberal stance that the state exists for us and the benefit of our social relations? A huge amount of questions are taken into account and discussed, in addition to other great political philosophers such as Rawls, Khun, Weber, Parsons, Dworkin and more.

My only criticism of this book is that he includes only a short section in the last chapter on the necessity of the integration feminist political and ethical theory into democracy and law.. Habermas gets points for being a philosopher that has addressed the need for philosophy and political theory to take feminism more seriously, but this theme could be a book in it's own right. His take on the necessity of paying attention to women's rights and equal opportunity and the need to move away from essentialist views of gender is powerful and I wish he had spent more time on it. Other than that this is an incredible book and if you are looking for a more modern work on political philosophy I highly recommend it.

[Stefan Szczelkun · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Facts and Norms Habermas attempts to show “how the old promise of a self-organising community of free and equal citizens can be reconceived under the conditions of complex societies”. p.7
Habermas takes the insights of his Theory of Communicative Action and applies them to a study of jurisprudence. The book loops its argumentation through a wide variety of discourses and can be repetitive. I found this repetition useful as a contemplative device. The aim is to argue for a legal system that is underpinned by a set of inclusive democratic validations. Law and law making that is a dynamic and continually re-evaluated enactment of the peoples will.
As usual with Habermas his refusal to entertain arguments that are imaginative or emotive (e.g.lead to class antagonism) are both a strength and weakness.

See my 2023 review of 'Public Sphere' etc here: https://stefan-szczelkun.blogspot.com...

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to be completely honest: I did not finish this book. Nor am I planning on finishing it. Therefore, I'll have to base my review on my reading of the first three chapters, which I must've read four or five times when I studied this book during the course of the previous academic year.

Mr Habermas's philosophical ideas are incredibly complex and nuanced, and I really respect him for that. He manages to formulate a theory of the legitimation of law that respects both its facticity and its validity. Unfortunately, in my reading of this book, I underestimated how much pre-existing knowledge of Habermas's previous philosophical works (especially A Theory of Communicative Action) is necessary in order to sufficiently grasp his ideas. Add the fact that the book is translated from the German and that Habermas also uses his own particular terminology, which results in my assessment that this book is a very difficult, though not entirely unrewarding, read.

[Nikos · Rating 1 out of 5]

junge, geh mal raus, fass Gras an oder so

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this way back in my twenties, when i was surely more into "reading the right books" than attempting to develop an understanding of where the ideas fit into a framework for thinking and living... still, Habermas is a strong writer and brilliant thinker... probably better on theory than he is on application...

[Kalle Eriksson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Habermas har många intressanta idéer om demokrati och framför allt statens roll samt dess relation till civilsamhället. Texten är dock allt annat än lättsmält och jag hade nog kunnat tillgodogöra mig den lite bättre om jag läst The theory of communicative action innan.

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean I understood about every other page (if I was lucky). But seriously, apart from writing on things that I believed he could have said in much common sense terms, he does make a couple of valid points on discourse theory and law, mostly his discussions in regards to the relationship between law and morality.

[Reeder · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many long words. Even if he only used the word "hermeneutically" just once that is way too often...

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

With this work, Habermas makes a unique contribution to the fields of political theory and moral philosophy. However, his theory is much like his writing: It's so quixotic that its utility is somewhat diminished.

[Hayden Hamilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe the least accessible book in the history of the world. Spent 10 minutes reading the first page and had zero idea what he was trying to say. Reminds me of the journal submissions that were published that turned out to be just an AI throwing random big words together.

[Vletrmscx · Rating 4 out of 5]

difficult

[maxyeote · Rating 5 out of 5]

finally finished this book after maybe a bit too long of a break in between... anyway it's excellent. I can't marshal my thoughts now but maybe I'll write an essay on it soon

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important thinker on democracy. Highlights the importance of political discourse in the private sphere and the need for us all to become critical thinkers. But difficult to get through, probably because of translations. Not an easy read.

[Bookshark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting attempt and I think largely successful attempt to bring together the liberal/rights strain of democratic thought and the republican/popular sovereignty strain. I see a lot of Habermas's thinking in contemporary democratic political theory, although this debt often goes unacknowledged. This book is also dizzyingly complex - if you think you know Habermas from only his essays you have no idea what you're in for. Of the arguments I understood, I found them quite innovative; but I suspect this will require several re-reads before I am fully comfortable with it. Further review to follow upon re-reads. A classic for good reason.

[Levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zizek, rather mockingly, once called Habermas: 'the State philosopher of the west'. He was somewhat right. However, i can't see why that necessarily is a bad thing.

Habermas uses the tension of factual and normative aspects of law, being (according to Habermas) the central issue of modern legal systems, as a starting point for a detailed investigation into law and politics. While complicated and somewhat idealistic, it still deserves the attention of anyone interested in the subject matter.

[Risa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought) by Jurgen Habermas (1998)

[Ft. Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

youdayoudabest.