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26The Weaknesses of Strong IntersubjectivismEuropean Journal of Political Theory 2 (3): 281-305. 2003.The article deals with Habermas's intersubjective approach to critical social theory, focusing on his intersubjective accounts of truth, justice and democratic legitimacy. Distinguishing between stronger and weaker versions of an intersubjective account, it draws attention to Habermas's recent move from a strong intersubjective, constructivist, interpretation of truth to a weaker, non-constructivist, one. It then looks at his refusal to make a similar move in the case of justice, arguing that it…Read more
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60Resurrecting the Rationality of Ideology Critique: Reflections on Laclau on IdeologyConstellations 13 (1): 4-20. 2006.
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Martin Beck Matustik, Jurgen Habermas. A Philosophical-Political Profile Reviewed byPhilosophy in Review 22 (5): 338-340. 2002.
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37Civil obedience and disobediencePhilosophy and Social Criticism 42 (10): 995-1003. 2016.This article offers a general framework for thinking about civil disobedience as transformative political action. Positing authority as the mode of power corresponding to obedience, and authority and freedom as internally related, it proposes a model of freedom and political authority as a basis for this framework. The framework is sufficiently general to allow for context-dependent variations – for example, as to whether publicity or non-violence is required – while specifying a view of civil d…Read more
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44Argumentation and TransformationArgumentation 16 (1): 81-110. 2002.I consider argumentation from the point of view of context-transcendent cognitive transformation through reference to the critical social theory of Jürgen Habermas. My aim is threefold. First, to make the case for a concept of context-transcendent cognitive transformation. Second, to clarify the transformatory role of argumentation itself by showing that, while argumentation may contribute constructively to context-transcendent cognitive transformation, such transformation presupposes the exist…Read more
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41Books briefly notedInternational Journal of Philosophical Studies 2 (2). 1994.Essays on Philosophy and Economic Methodology By Daniel M. Hausman Cambridge University Press, 1992. Pp. 259. ISBN 0?521?41740?6. £35.00. Le Fondement de la morale: Essai d'éthiquephilosophique By André Léonard Cerf, 1991. Pp. 381. ISBN not available. FF240. The Philosophy of Time Edited By Robin Le Poidevin and Murray MacBeath Oxford University Press, 1993. Pp. 230. ISBN 0?19?823998?X. £27.50. The Ethics and Politics of Human Experimentation By Paul M. McNeill Cambridge University Press, 1993. …Read more
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41Socio-cultural learning as a 'transcendental fact': Habermas's postmetaphysical perspectiveInternational Journal of Philosophical Studies 9 (1). 2001.This Article does not have an abstract
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4Questioning autonomy: The feminist challenge and the challenge for feminismIn Richard Kearney & Mark Dooley (eds.), Questioning Ethics: Contemporary Debates in Philosophy, Routledge. pp. 258--282. 1999.
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3Habermas' social theory : the critical power of communicative rationalityIn Ruth Sonderegger & Karin de Boer (eds.), Conceptions of Critique in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy, Palgrave-macmillan. 2011.
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65Between 'objectivism' and 'contextualism': The normative foundations of social philosophyCritical Horizons 1 (2): 193-227. 2000.One of the principal challenges facing contemporary social philosophy is how to find foundations that are normatively robust yet congruent with its self-understanding. Social philosophy is a critical project within modernity, an interpretative horizon that stresses the influences of history and context on knowledge and experience. However, if it is to engage in intercultural dialogue and normatively robust social critique,social philosophy requires non-arbitrary,universal normative standards.The…Read more
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16Unintelligible! Inaccessible! Unacceptable! Are religious truth claims a problem for liberal democracies?Philosophy and Social Criticism 43 (4-5): 442-452. 2017.In liberal democracies it is now a commonplace that public debates in the institutionalized political sphere should involve only arguments and reasons that are in principle intelligible, accessible and acceptable to all citizens. Many political theorists take the view that religious arguments and reasons do not meet these requirements. My article interrogates this widely held position, considering each of the three requirements in turn. Motivating my discussion is the view that religious beliefs…Read more