Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 11:18:29 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
From: Stephen Chilton <schilton-AT-d.umn.edu>
Subject: Re: HAB: Hab's method in BFN


Matt--

I have a somewhat different take on this from Fred Welfare's (if I
interpret him correctly).  Your question seems to assume that H.
is intending / needs to provide an absolute, theoretical grounding
of his position.  However, the Munchhausen trilemma shows that
such purely theoretical grounding is impossible;  some other form
of justification is required.  H. uses a reconstructive
(dialectical) logic, where theory and empirical reality are
*always* mutually correcting, neither having priority over the
other.  So it seems to me that his consideration of empirical
doubts is important -- not only immediately, to fend off those
empirical issues that might undercut his theoretical position, but
also in the long run, as a sign that he is staying intellectually
honest by considering these problems.

Best to all,

Steve

****************************************************************
| Stephen Chilton, Associate Professor, Dept of Pol Science
|    Univ of Minnesota-Duluth / Duluth, MN 55812-2496 / USA
|
| 218-726-8162/7534   FAX: 726-6386   Home: 724-6833 (home)
| www.d.umn.edu/~schilton    EMAIL: schilton-AT-mail.d.umn.edu
|
| "I always said I wanted to be somebody, but I should have
|  been more specific."
|	-- Lily Tomlin (via Sara Chilton)
****************************************************************

On Sun, 20 May 2001, matthew piscioneri wrote:

> Dear List,
>
> Given the high level of theoretical abstraction H. frequently makes
> reference to in _BFN_, why does he feel the need to give 'time' over to
> dealing with 'empirical doubts' about the coherency of his model?
>
> The conflation of prescriptive/descriptive/idealising tendencies in the
> _BFN_ is VERY frustrating. Where do other List members feel Habermas wants
> to go in this work? I don't mean the explicit 'theme' of the work as much as
> its 'objective' as a theoretical 'product'.
>
> MattP
> _________________________________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.
>
>
>
>      --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
>



     --- from list habermas-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---