Between Facts and Norms

This is Habermas's long awaited work on law, democracy and the modern constitutional state in which he develops his own account of the nature of law and democracy.

Auteur

Jürgen Habermas is a German philosopher and sociologist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theories on communicative rationality and the public sphere. In 2014, Prospect readers chose Habermas as one of their favourites among the "world's leading thinkers".

Texte du rabat
In Between Facts and Norms Habermas works out the legal and political implications of his theoretical approach, bringing to fruition the project announced more than three decades ago in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. Between Facts and Norms is a major contribution to current debates on the role of law and the prospects for the development of democracy in contemporary societies. Habermas develops a distinctive account of the nature of law, arguing that law is characterized by an internal tension between factual and normative aspects. He links this account to a broader argument concerning the formation of the modern constitutional state and the role of democratic deliberation as a means of securing the legitimacy of legal norms in complex, pluralistic societies.

Habermas develops a proceduralist conception of democracy which emphasizes the importance of citizens organizing themselves in informal associations and voicing their concerns in a variety of public settings. If the formal processes of law-making in modern societies are to sustain their legitimacy, they must be capable of taking account of the concerns of ordinary citizens. In our complex, pluralistic societies, the legitimacy of political decision-making processes depends on a robust civil society and a vibrant public sphere.

Between Facts and Norms is an outstanding work by one the most important social and political thinkers of our time. It will be a focal point of debate for many years to come in the fields of social and political theory, sociology, politics and philosophy.

Contenu

Translator's Introduction.

Preface.

1. Law as a Category of Social Mediation between Facts and
   Norms.

2. The Sociology of Law versus the Philosophy of Justice.

3. A Reconstructive Approach to Law I: The System of Rights.

4. A Reconstructive Approach to Law II: The Principles of the
   Constitutional State. 5. The Indeterminacy of Law and the
   Rationality of Adjudication.

5. Judiciary and Legislature: On the Role and Legitimacy of
   Constitutional Adjudication.

6. Deliberative Politics: A Procedural Concept of Democracy.

7. Civil Society and the Political Public Sphere.

8. Paradigms of Law. Postscript (1994).

Appendices.

Notes.

Bibliography.

Index.