Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy / Edition 1

by Jurgen Habermas, William Rehg

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262581622
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	01/23/1998
Series:	Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	676
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.26(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jürgen Habermas is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Frankfurt and Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University. He was recently awarded the 2004 Kyoto Prize for Arts and Philosophy by the Inamori Foundation. The Kyoto Prize is an international award to honor those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural, and spiritual betterment of mankind.

William Rehg is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University. He is the translator of Jürgen Habermas's Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy (1996) and the coeditor of Deliberative Democracy: Essays on Reason and Politics and Pluralism (1997) and The Pragmatic Turn: The Transformation of Critical Theory (2001), all published by the MIT Press.

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction.

Preface.

1. Law as a Category of Social Mediation between Facts and Norms.

2. The Sociology of Law versus the Philosophy of Justice.

3. A Reconstructive Approach to Law I: The System of Rights.

4. A Reconstructive Approach to Law II: The Principles of the Constitutional State. 5. The Indeterminacy of Law and the Rationality of Adjudication.

6. Judiciary and Legislature: On the Role and Legitimacy of Constitutional Adjudication.

7. Deliberative Politics: A Procedural Concept of Democracy.

8. Civil Society and the Political Public Sphere.

9. Paradigms of Law. Postscript (1994).

Appendices.

Notes.

Bibliography.

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"[A] fascinating synthesis of Continental and Anglo-American legaltheory... full of interesting insights, acute criticisms, andstriking passages." Richard A. Posner, The New Republic

Richard A. Posner

[A] fascinating synthesis of Continental and Anglo-American legaltheory...full of interesting insights, acute criticisms, and striking passages.

Editorial Reviews

[A] fascinating synthesis of Continental and Anglo-American legal theory...full of interesting insights, acute criticisms, and striking passages.—Richard A. Posner, The New Republic—

From the Publisher

[A] fascinating synthesis of Continental and Anglo-American legal theory...full of interesting insights, acute criticisms, and striking passages.

—Richard A. Posner, The New Republic

Reviews

[A] fascinating synthesis of Continental and Anglo-American legal theory...full of interesting insights, acute criticisms, and striking passages.

The New Republic - Richard A. Posner

Building on his 1981 volume Theory of Communicative Action, Habermas contributes to recent debates on the rule of law and the possibilities of democracy in postindustrial societies, proposing a new paradigm of law. First published in 1992 by Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany, this English language edition includes a postscript written in 1994 and two appendices covering key developments that preceded the book. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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