Justification and Application

This collection of four essays and an interview contains Habermas's most
recent contributions to ethical theory. It expands and clarifies the work on
discourse ethics presented in Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action. Here,
largely in response to criticisms from contemporary neo-Aristotelians, Habermas
underscores the claim of discourse ethics to a preeminent position in contemporary
moral philosophy with incisive analyses and refinements of the central concepts of
his theory that include important developments in his treatment of practical reason
and of the problems of application and motivation.The first essay offers a
comprehensive analysis of practical rationality, which establishes a clear
demarcation between pragmatic, ethical, and moral questions and a corresponding
differentiation between forms of volition and spheres of practical discourse. The
centerpiece of the book is a multifaceted defense of the central claims of discourse
ethics incorporating masterly critiques of the major competing positions, including
those of John Rawls, Bernard Williams, Charles Taylor, Alasdair MacIntyre, Karl-Otto
Apel, and Albrecht WellmerThe middle essays defend the basic intention of
universalist moral theory in the face of the claims of the neo-Aristotelian ethics
of the good and Horkheimer's skepticism toward reason that led him to embrace a
religiously inspired ethic of compassion. An interview with Habermas covering such
topics as the genesis of discourse ethics, the precise import of some of its more
controversial elements, and its interconnections with the theory of communicative
actions concludes this important collection.Jürgen Habermas is Professor of
Philosophy at the University of Frankfurt.