Public Domain and the Life World: Habermas's Theoretical Research on Civil Society

Author: Li Dianlai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Based on extensive textual materials, this book provides a detailed discussion of the formation background and evolutionary process of Habermas's theory of civil society, its problem domain and conceptual framework, theoretical characteristics and key points. It offers an in-depth analysis of the significant academic impact of this theory in contemporary intellectual circles and offers a comprehensive assessment of its value and limitations. In the book, Habermas's concept of civil society is divided into two stages: the first stage is characterized by the theory of the public sphere as its basic discourse background, and the second stage is primarily structured by the theory of the lifeworld. This concept not only contains traditional themes of civil society theory, such as the distinction of social structures, the argumentation of legitimacy, and the elucidation of democracy, but also connects with critical theory and modernity theory. Therefore, seemingly unrelated issues such as the public sphere, the lifeworld, social critique, civil society, and modernity are internally unified in the discussion of this book.