From Kantian to Habersmanian Ethics: Socio-Juridical Implications of the Discursive Reconfigurationof the Categorical Imperative

Abstract

This article analyzes the reconstruction of Kant’s categoric imperative by Habermas’ discourse ethics. Various scientific methodologies were combined including deductive, typological, analytical and hermeneutic-phenomenological approaches. The deductive approach begins from the general theory about the issue to seek conclusions about particular situations. The typology approach focuses on the study of an ideal type used to create a model in reality. The analytical approach focuses on conceptual analysis and strives for a rigorous use of concepts. In the hermeneutic-phenomenological approach the fundamental epistemological category is comprehension and the goal is an interpretation of the facts. The text first presents a formulation of the categorical imperative and its consequences for human action and derived formulas. It then presents the Habermasian proposal for a discourse ethics, the principle of universalization and the reduction of ethical action to monological action. Finally, it establishes a relation between the two theoretical-philosophical positions and the socio-juridical consequences of Habermasian ethics for a Theory of Society.