Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Discursive Theory of Law

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

  • 143 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter is devoted to the analysis of Habermas’s discursive theory of law. The relationship between morality and law is particularly significant here. The analysis begins with a significant reference to which Habermas often turns, namely Immanuel Kant. The analysis of the discursive theory of law goes through the analysis of the dichotomies of natural versus positive law, private versus public autonomy, liberalism versus republicanism, natural rights versus sovereignty. Habermas’s approach is by calling for the discourse to accept neither of the extremes in the dichotomy. Thus, he does not accept that human rights are a pre-political category, just as he does not accept that sovereignty is popular. Human rights and sovereignty are the fruits of discourse. For the discourse to function, a public sphere, democratic institutions, and a legal framework are needed, which will establish the procedures in which the debate will take place and understanding and consensus will be reached.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

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

  • Alexy, Robert (2011) A Theory of Constitutional Rights; Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alexy, Robert (1989) A Theory of Legal Argumentation; Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, Hugh (2011) Habermas: The Discourse Theory of Law and Politics; Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chevigny, G. Poul (2000) “Law and Politics in Between Facts and Norms” In Perspectives on Habermas; Hahn Edwin Lewis (ed.), Chicago: Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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 

  • Forbath, E. William (1996) Short-Circuit: A Critique of Habermas’s Understanding of Law, Politics, and Economic Life; Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 17, pp. 1441–1445.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, Jürgen (1996) Between Facts and Norms; Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Kant, Immanuel (1965) The Metaphysical Elements of Justice; New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefebvre, Alexandre (2008) The Image of Law: Deleuze, Bergson, Spinoza; Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Markell, Patchen (1997) Contesting Consensus: Rereading Habermas on the Public Sphere; Constellations, Vol. 3, No. 3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathieu, Deflem (2008) Law in Habermas Theory of Communicative Action; Universitas, No. 116, pp. 267–285.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Google Scholar 

  • Nerhot, Patrick (1990) “Introduction” In Law, Interpretation and Reality: Essays in Epistemology, Hermeneutics and Jurisprudence, (Nerhot Patrick ed.), Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niesen, Peter (2017) “Discursive Ethics” In The Cambridge History of Moral Philosophy; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rawls, John (1993) Political Liberalism; New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfeld, Michael, Arato, Andrew (1998) “Introduction” In Habermas on Law and Democracy: Critical Exchanges; Rosenfeld Michael, Arato Andrew (eds.); Los Angeles: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

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

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, Max (1976) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism; London: Allen and Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zangwe, Prince Dunia (2021) “The Dangers of Transplanting Transformative Constitutionalism in Namibia” In Global Jurisprudential Apartheid in the Twenty-First Century: Universalism and Particularism in 21st Century; Nhemachena Artwell, Chitimira Tafara Howard, Warikandwa Victor Tapiwa (eds.), Lanham: The Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zurn, Christofer (2011) “Discourse Theory of Law” In Jürgen Habermas: Key Concepts; Fultner Barbara (eds.), London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Strumica, North Macedonia

    Kire Sharlamanov

Authors
  1. Kire Sharlamanov
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

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). Discursive Theory of Law. In: Habermas between Critical Theory and Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53938-1_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53938-1_8

  • 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