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1Dual character of concepts and the discourse theory of lawIn Matthias Klatt (ed.), Institutionalized reason: the jurisprudence of Robert Alexy, Oxford University Press. 2012.
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83Are ethical conflicts irreconcilable?Philosophy and Social Criticism 23 (2): 1-19. 1997.The discussion starts with the fact of ethical disagreement in contemporary liberal democracies. In responding to the question of whether such conflicts are reconcilable, it proposes a normative model of deliberative democracy that seeks to avoid the privatization of ethical concerns. It is argued that many contemporary models of democracy privatize ethical matters either because of a view that ethical conflicts are fundamentally irreconcilable or because of a mis trust of the ideal of rational …Read more
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71Redeeming redemption: The utopian dimension of critical social theoryPhilosophy and Social Criticism 30 (4): 413-429. 2004.Critical social theory has an uneasy relationship with utopia. On the one hand, the idea of an alternative, better social order is necessary in order to make sense of its criticisms of a given social context. On the other hand, utopian thinking has to avoid bad utopianism, defined as lack of connection with the actual historical process, and finalism, defined as closure of the historical process. Contemporary approaches to critical social theory endeavour to avoid these dangers by way of a p…Read more
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42Language and Reason: A Study of Habermas's PragmaticsMIT Press. 1997.Language and Reason opens up new territory for social theorists by providing thefirst general introduction to Habermas's program of formal pragmatics: his reconstruction of theuniversal principles of possible understanding that, he argues, ...
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Barry Smart, "Modern Conditions, Postmodern Controversies"International Journal of Philosophical Studies 2 (2): 385. 1994.
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13Translating truthPhilosophy and Social Criticism 37 (4): 479-491. 2011.The article considers the role of translation in encounters between religious citizens and secular citizens. It follows Habermas in holding that translations rearticulate religious contents in a way that facilitates learning. Since he underplays the complexities of translation, it takes some steps beyond Habermas towards developing a more adequate account. Its main thesis is that the required account of translation must keep sight of the question of truth. Focusing on inspirational stories of ex…Read more
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10Feminism and JusticeIn Joseph Dunne, Attracta Ingram, Frank Litton & Fergal O'Connor (eds.), Questioning Ireland: Debates in Political Philosophy and Public Policy, Institute of Public Administration. pp. 124. 2000.
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86A space of one’s own: autonomy, privacy, libertyPhilosophy and Social Criticism 25 (1): 22-53. 1999.The value of a negatively defined private space is defended as important for the development of personal autonomy. It is argued that negative liberty is problematic when split off from its connection with this ideal. An ethical interpretation of personal autonomy is proposed according to which a private space is one of autonomy's preconditions. This leads to a conceptualization of privacy that is fruitful in two respects: it permits an account of privacy laws that avoids certain pitfalls, and it…Read more
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27The Limits of Learning: Habermas' Social Theory and ReligionEuropean Journal of Philosophy 24 (3): 694-711. 2014.Habermas' view that contemporary philosophy and social theory can learn from religious traditions calls for closer consideration. He is correct to hold that religious traditions constitute a reservoir of potentially important meanings that can be critically appropriated without emptying them of their motivating and inspirational power. However, contrary to what he implies, his theory allows for learning from religion only to a very limited degree. This is due to two core elements of his conceptu…Read more