The role of reconstruction in critical­normative theory by Jürgen Habermas

Abstract

Critical theory has undergone major reformulations. In this article, we intend to point out how Jürgen Habermas gave this theoretical corpus a new formulation and why his theorization can be included in the perspective of this school, although the philosopher had been less focused on the empirical research than his predecessors. Such affiliation has important consequences for his conception of democratic autonomy: we maintain that the author’s writings constitute a critical-normative theory, conceived as an instrument of emancipation that operates through the realization of democratic autonomy, founded on the notion of reconstruction. We argue that the relationship between reconstruction and normative theory can be demonstrated by means of an analysis that considers not only his explicitly political texts but also the less exploited ones devoted to reconstruction.