Public Sphere Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Public Sphere Theory - Essay Example Thereby, the public sphere makes possible the emancipation of its participants. In his The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Habermas presents a socio-historical study of the rise, structure and disintegration of the public sphere. He ascribes the disintegration of public dialogue to the predominance of instrumental reason, that is, of a means-end rationality, in contemporary societies. This orientation has led to the impoverishment of cultural tradition and normative structures, on which individuals draw in the process of coming to an understanding. From the critical perspective, the concepts of public sphere and debate are intrinsically connected, because the latter usually constitutes a prerequisite for public sphere to form. Simultaneously, the focus on rationality in the theory of public sphere constitutes an important characteristic and has significant impact on public discourse. Ideas articulated by Jrgen Habermas provide one with guidance to understand the problem of rationality in public sphere and discourse. According to Bohman, Habermas developed a two-level social theory that includes an analysis of communicative rationality and a theory of modern society and modernization. From the critical perspective, the final goal of any public discourse or interaction is a mutual recognition and understanding, not the debate itself. Consequently, interaction cannot be rationalized according to the strategic selection of means, but has to be rationalized based on the reciprocal expectations that guide interaction. Habermas (1979) emphasizes that Whereas the rationalization of purposive-rational action depends on the accumulation of true (empirically or analytically true) knowledge, the rationalizable aspect of communicative action has nothing to do with propositional truth; but has everything to do with the truthfulness of intentional expressions and with the lightness of norms (p.119) Thus, when Habermas speaks of "rationalizing" public discourse, he does not mean imposing a pre-existing set of values, such as those presented by the concept of reason. Rather, Habermas understands by rationalization the process of freeing public debate from those forces that distort communication. These forces thereby prevent the attainment of consensus or agreement arrived free from coercion. In an attempt to define the process of coming to an understanding, Habermas differentiates communicative action from communicative act. A communicative act involves the sharing of factual information and the coordination of action. Communicative action, on the other hand, employs language as a means towards reaching understanding. To this end, participants must have acquired what Habermas terms, communicative competence. That is, participants not only must be able to form grammatically coherent sentences, but must also have developed the ability of critical reflection. He had described this process as the starting point of socio-cultural development in Towards a Reconstruction of Historical Materialism. Now, it becomes a prerequisite for social change and, of course, public discourse and public sphere formation. Whereas communicative acts remain indifferent to the motivations informing statements, communicative act

Yonnondio and Waiting for Lefty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Yonnondio and Waiting for Lefty - Essay Example This is the reason many authors are still writing about issues that bring negative impacts to the community and are related to capitalism. They have chosen individuals in their writing to portray the experiences in the superior communal entirety of capitalism. In the given novels, there are many similarities shown in the characters way of life. There are two families used by the authors to show the different lifestyles among capitalized people. In both novels, it is essential to note that similar issues are discussed. The authors mostly focus on the struggles people have to undergo to ensure that there lives are better. In the play waiting for lefty, Miller is a learned man working in the lab as lab assistance. He works for a certain company and is requested by his boss to make poisonous gases that are to be used to fight in a chemical war. To ensure that he does not neglect his request, his boss tells him of his raise in his office. He does not understand that he is being used to ma ke poisonous gases that are to be used by certain people in chemical warfare. At first, he seems to accept to the terms as offered but as Fayette, his boss, continues with his explanations he remembers the deaths that have occurred due to war (Odets, 23). He remembers the death of his brother and is willing to lose his job. The author states that he tells it to Fayette’s face that he had rather get a livelihood from digging ditches. The author tries to show that there is a lot of exploitation among the people who live in lower standards of life. Since they are willing to have better lives, they are willing to bear with anything to have their goals achieved. Just like Miller, many people should be ready to overcome worse experiences as seen among people living under capitalism (Odets, 30). In the novel Yonnondio, it is evident that the characters used bring out the idea of capitalism really well. Anna Holbrook believes that her children can evade the kind of life she was livin g by acquiring education. The author uses day- dreaming and imagination to bring out the ideas in Anna’s mind. Although she lives a poor life, she is willing to have changes in the life of her children whereby they live a better one than they have in their childhood. She has to undergo through beating from her husband every time he comes home drunk. She does not have a job as her husband, but the chores at home always leave her very exhausted. She has to act as the ideal homemaker, always finding food and laundering clothes. Despite doing all this duties, she has to deal with domestic violence (Olsen, 34). The violence she has to undergo has changed her personality to an extent that she beats her children to make up for the pain she feels. Although she does this, she still cares about her children. This is the reason she always emphases that education is the only best thing that her children deserve. Her children have lived a miserable life, and she is not willing to have the m pass through the same life. To have her goals achieved, she has made them believe that the only way they are going to overcome the experiences of the people living under capitalization, is by working in offices. If they are ale to get good jobs and be admitted in any office, they will abandon the miserable living conditions. As a way of motivating them, she assures them that their hands will become whiter. The author to show that people living under capitalization are always willing to overcome the experiences uses Anna. She is willing to use any method to overcome ideas in capitalism (Olsen, 43). The author shows that there is some evidence of love among these people. Jim always attempts to create a good life