From: "matthew piscioneri" <mpiscioneri-AT-hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [HAB:] The content of reasons [George]
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 23:34:38 +0000


George,

I *speculatively* agree that this theme is present in Habermas's conception 
of the practical utility of the idealizations he bases so much of his theory 
construction on. However, explicitly, he is cautious about transforming the 
ideal components of communicative reason into some sort of regulative ideal. 
I think he copped so much flak about the regulatory function of the Ideal 
speech Situation that he has resisted regulating ideals again :-).

>The belief in the evolutionary potential of the Enlightenment project,
>which depends both on communicative rationality and socio-cultural
>transformation.

Having said this, I think at a very basic level Habermas does engage in the 
sort of discursive *for* or *against* strategy Foucault accused him of. I 
argue in my thesis that - and from a Durkheimian perspective - Habermas's 
program circa-TCA contra- Horkheimer and Adorno, and in his polemic against 
the Neo-Nietzschean school Habermas's objective is to defend what he 
considers to be the central integrating *collective ideal* of the West 
German (and Occidental) social order: [communicative] reason.

Although I realize we are discussing different senses of *ideal*.

>Perhaps the transcendental dimension is in the potentiality of the ideal
>itself, even though, as Habermas acknowledges, the reality perpetually
>butts up against it and there is little >empirical< evidence< that much
>is going to change at the ground level, though the case is not closed.
>
>Habermas wants to keep that space opened.  That would be his pragmatism.
>Perhaps the idealism (transcendentalism?) would be in the plausibility of
>the ideal as a living ideal.

Not sure I understand your last statement. As a living ideal (regulatory 
ideal?) there is certainly a basis for critical practice.

Regards,

MattP.

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