I am Jurgen Habermas!

I am Jürgen Habermas!

During our first Principles of Learning class, we were instructed to go to the QZZR website and take an epistemology quiz[1] which would align us with a particular theorist. 

The first time I took the quiz, I found that I was Jürgen Habermas. Habermas, born in 1929, is a German philosopher, sociologist, and prolific writer heavily influenced by Karl Marx. Two broad areas informed by Habermas are political thinking and issues related to "rationality, communication, and knowledge” (Bohman & Rehg, 1996). It is impossible to adequately sum up the writing of Habermas in one paragraph, in fact, there have been doctoral dissertations written about aspects of his ideology and its evolution over time (Stovall, 2018). 

Habermas' later work demonstrates an understanding that competent thinkers and communicators appreciate that other intellectuals can have different and equally provable opinions. As logical people, we should listen and consider the arguments and points of view expressed by others. According to Habermas, communication is essential to building not so much mutual understanding but rather a fulfillment of individual goals whose merits have been explained, and cooperation gained, through justification. These so-called speech acts must be based on honesty, facts, and sincerity (Bohman and Rehg, 1996).

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[1] The link to the Epistemology Quiz no longer functions.

Reflection

In many ways, my personal epistemology is like that of Jürgen Habermas. I too believe that people should work together to share what they have in a socialist way and that we should take care of each other. I spent many years strongly believing that the common good of society was at the heart of decisions made by the political and economic elite. As time passed, I came to understand that human nature is just as likely to be competitive and greedy. And yet, I continue to live my life by my longstanding philosophy of sharing what I have with those who have less. Habermas has a one-sided view of society. His writings are for educated people of privilege. From my brief review of his extensive and complicated works, it was difficult to determine how his thinking related to those who would take advantage of others. I am a strong believer in listening to the position of others, leading by example, and compromising to achieve wider goals. Not all actors are rooted in this same truth, certitude, and freedom from hypocrisy.