The Embattled Public Sphere: Hannah Arendt, Juergen Habermas and Beyond

Theoria ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 44 (90) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyla Benhabib
2004 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marinus Schoeman

Virtuosity and greatness: Aspects of Hannah Arendt’s “extra-moral” ethic of virtueThis article focuses on the “extra-moral” character of Arendt’s view of action and virtuousness. Particular attention is given to her a-teleological, performative (dramaturgical) view of action, which was inspired by the ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as certain aspects of Renaissance humanism, especially Machiavelli’s idea of virtue. According to this view, virtue relates to the virtuosity and “greatness” of the actor’s words and deeds, which in turn presupposes an agonistic ethos where different actors constantly try to surpass one another and to achieve exemplary status. This implies that virtue, or a truly ethical existence, has nothing to do with one’s inner feelings and intentions. Neither can it be measured against some transcendent norm or set of norms. Rather, it manifests itself in the performing of great and virtuosic actions in the presence of others. These actions thus depend on the existence of a vigorous public sphere, while at the same time being co-constitutive of the public sphere, helping to sustain it and keeping it alive. I


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Marlen Esser

AbstractKant’s famous motto of enlightenment, “Sapere aude!”, is inseparably entwined with the demand for the “public use of reason”. There is no doubt that this also embraces the notion of a free and unrestricted exchange of ideas and indicates the potential beginning of a process in which “subjects” of the state and passive citizens are capable of developing into citizens of the world, and in which nation states are capable of developing into a kind of world community. This conception of the public sphere also receives further concrete articulation in Kant’s Critique of Judgement, as Hannah Arendt already clearly recognized. In particular, the doctrine of reflective judgement, which is developed in that work, also allows us to derive several critical insights from Kant’s conception of enlightenment and the public sphere which are highly relevant to the contemporary intercultural discussion regarding the issue of the “Public Sphere”.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Wen-Sheng

AbstractThis paper begins with a discussion of the thesis that politics is a kind of téchne (art), as Aristotle states. He defines téchne as being the opposite of túche (chance). Hence, politics is neither an exact science nor an accidental opinion; it is, rather, a teachable art or skill (Kunstlehre). Based on this theme, the paper investigates how Hannah Arendt interprets political freedom in the public sphere as the will of the plural citizens, facing an uncertain future, attempting to still the disquiet of the collective ego. A comparison between Arendt and Heidegger could be made if we further investigate Heidegger’s understanding of political freedom in the public sphere based on his comprehension of the will of Da-sein and the enowning (Ereignis) of Being.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Halanne Fontenele Barros
Keyword(s):  

Este trabalho tem como objetivo, investigar como se deu o surgimento do que Hannah Arendt denominou esfera do social, assim como a formação do homem de massa após a vitória do animal laborans na era moderna. Para tanto recorreremos Grécia antiga com o fito de conceituar o que esta autora denominou de público e privado, em seguida mostraremos como está configurado tais domínios na era moderna e suas influências na formação do que se denomina esfera do social na filosofia política arendtiana.   Resumé Cette étude a pour objectif analyser l’origine de ce que Hannah Arendt appelait la sphère social, ainsi que la formation de l'homme de masse après la victoire de l’animal laborans dans l'ère moderne. De ce fait, nous recourrerons à la Grèce antique dans le but de conceptualiser ce qui s’appelais autrefois public et privé, puis nous montrerons comment sont configurés tels domaines dans l'époque moderne et leurs influences sur la formation de ce qu'on appelle la sphère social dans la philosophie politique de Hannah Arendt. Mots-clé: sphère social, homme de masse, animal laborans, sphère public, sphère privé.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-170
Author(s):  
Gesa Frömming

Abstract The practical interest driving many 20th-century theories of the public sphere led Hannah Arendt, Jürgen Habermas, and Oskar Negt/Alexander Kluge to focus upon the various practices that bring about, and keep alive, a public sphere. Looking for common ground between their accounts, this article argues that all of them rely upon the concept of “Herstellung” (fabrication/work), as distinguished from action or deliberation, for a critical analysis of these practices. While there are significant differences in the ways they deploy the concept, its theoretical function is similar in that it sheds light upon the institutional, organizational, and medial conditions for public agency to arise. The concept thus enables reflection upon the political relevance of practices such as writing books, making films, studying the past, and commemorating the dead, as well as upon the infrastructures and publics that are constitutive for them.


1994 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Johnson ◽  
Dana R. Villa

Theories of the public sphere, as standardly formulated, aim to specify the minimal, necessary conditions for a discursive realm free of coercion or manipulation. In his article in this Review in September 1992, Dana Villa urged us to reconsider this standard account. He argued that when read in light of postmodernist theory, Hannah Arendt provides the basis for a revised conception of the public sphere that privileges plurality and difference over consensus. Jim Johnson suggests that Villa's analysis is a thinly veiled polemic against critical theory. Johnson argues that, as critique, Villa's argument is neither decisive nor encompassing, and that as polemic it blinds Villa to potentially fruitful disagreements with critical theorists. Villa replies that Johnson misses the synthetic thrust of the original article because he identified public realm theory too narrowly with Habermas. Thus, he misconstrues the dialogue Villa sought to facilitate between Arendt and postmodernism.


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