Skip to main content

The Communicative Action

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Habermas between Critical Theory and Liberalism
  • 164 Accesses

Abstract

The development of the theory of communicative action is a turning point in the development of Habermas’s theoretical oeuvre. This theory starts from the analysis of different types of action, of which Habermas dwells on the dichotomy between communicative and strategic (instrumental) action. They rely on different motives, achieving understanding in communicative action and achieving success in strategic (instrumental) action. Habermas connects these two types of action with two types of reality: lifeworld and system. At the same time, Habermas especially concentrates on clarifying the specifics of communicative action, speech acts, validity claims, etc. All the mentioned things are explained in more detail in this chapter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from €39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Chapter
EUR 29.95
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
EUR 96.29
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
EUR 128.39
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
EUR 128.39
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

') var buybox = document.querySelector("[data-id=id_"+ timestamp +"]").parentNode var buyingOptions = buybox.querySelectorAll(".buying-option") ;[].slice.call(buyingOptions).forEach(initCollapsibles) var buyboxMaxSingleColumnWidth = 480 function initCollapsibles(subscription, index) { var toggle = subscription.querySelector(".buying-option-price") subscription.classList.remove("expanded") var form = subscription.querySelector(".buying-option-form") var priceInfo = subscription.querySelector(".price-info") var buyingOption = toggle.parentElement if (toggle && form && priceInfo) { toggle.setAttribute("role", "button") toggle.setAttribute("tabindex", "0") toggle.addEventListener("click", function (event) { var expandedBuyingOptions = buybox.querySelectorAll(".buying-option.expanded") var buyboxWidth = buybox.offsetWidth ;[].slice.call(expandedBuyingOptions).forEach(function(option) { if (buyboxWidth buyboxMaxSingleColumnWidth) { toggle.click() } else { if (index === 0) { toggle.click() } else { toggle.setAttribute("aria-expanded", "false") form.hidden = "hidden" priceInfo.hidden = "hidden" } } }) } initialStateOpen() if (window.buyboxInitialised) return window.buyboxInitialised = true initKeyControls() })()

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Baynes, Kenneth (1998) “Habermas Jürgen” In The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy; (Craig Edward ed.), London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohman, James (2000) “Distorted Communication: Formal Pragmatics as a Critical Theory” In Perspectives on Habermas; Hahn Edwin Lewis (ed.), Chicago: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vera, A. Dennis (2014) Habermas, Discourse Ethics, and Normative Validity; Kritike; Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 139–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunne, Luke (2022) Six Points on Jürgen Habermas Revolutionary Discourse Theory, The collector. com, accessed 16.06.2023 https://www.thecollector.com/jurgen-habermas-discourse-ethics/.

  • Edgar, Andrew (2006) Habermas: The Kew Concepts; London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Edgar, Andrey (2005) The Philosophy of Habermas; Montreal: McGill University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Finlayson, Gordon James (2005) Habermas A Very Short Introduction; New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, Michael (1972) Archeology of Knowledge; New York: Pantheon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fultner, Barbara (2011a) “Introduction” In Jürgen Habermas: Key Concepts; Fultner Barbara (eds.), London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fultner, Barbara (2011b) “Communicative action and formal pragmatics” In Jürgen Habermas: Key Concepts; Fultner Barbara (eds.), London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, Anthony (1987) Social Theory and Modem Sociology; Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, Jürgen (1994) Justification and Application: Remarks on Discourse Ethics; MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, Jürgen (1984) The Theory of Communicative Action: Reason and the Rationalization of Society. Vol. 1.; Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, Jürgen (1979) Communication and Evolution of Society; Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, Jürgen (1974) Habermas Talking: An Interview; Theory and Society, vol. 1, pp. 37–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kellner, Douglas (2000) “Habermas, the Public Sphere, and the Democracy: A Critical Intervention” In Perspectives on Habermas; Hahn Edwin Lewis (ed.), Chicago: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langsdorf, Lenore (2000) “The Real Condition for the Possibility of Communicative Action” In Perspectives on Habermas; Hahn Edwin Lewis (ed.), Chicago: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • Madison, G.B. (2000) “Critical Theory and Hermeneutics: Some Outstanding Issues in the Debate” In Perspectives on Habermas; Hahn Edwin Lewis (ed.), Chicago: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • MakKendrich, G Kenneth (2008) Discourse, Desire, and Fantasy in Jurgen Habermas Critical Theory; New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mathews, T. Matthew (1999) The Persistence of Religious Meaning in the Critical Theory of Jürgen Habermas; Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal; Vol. 82. No. 3–4. 1999. pp. 383–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, Thomas (1978) The Critical Theory of Jürgen Habermas; Cambridge: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIvor, W. David (2015) “Habermas Jürgen” In Encyclopedia of Political Thought, Gibbons Michael; New York: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pensky, Max (2011) “Historical and Intellectual Context” In Jürgen Habermas: Key Concepts; Fultner Barbara (eds.), London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shabani, Payrow A. Omid (2003) Democracy, Power, and Legitimacy: The Critical Theory of Jürgen Habermas; Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sitton, F. John (2003) Habermas and Contemporary Society; New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Steinhoff, Uwe (2009) The Philosophy of Jürgen Habermas: A Critical Introduction; New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, Nicholas (1999) “The Reorientation of Critical Theory: Habermas,” In The Edinburgh Encyclopedia of Continental Philosophy; (Glendinning Simon ed.), Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Sharlamanov, K. (2024). The Communicative Action. In: Habermas between Critical Theory and Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53938-1_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53938-1_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-53937-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-53938-1

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics