Clarifying the Foucault—Habermas debate

Morality, ethics, and `normative foundations

Bibliographic Data

ID11340975
AuthorsMatthew King (0000-0003-2525-443X, York University), Matthew J King (0000-0002-2815-5923, York University, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume35
Issue3
Pages287-314
Publication date2009-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophy & Social Criticism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0191-4537 • E-ISSN: 1461-734X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0191453708100232
OpenAlexW2145137642
LanguageEN
Citations received5

Habermas charges that Foucault's work `cannot account for its normative foundations'. Responses to Habermas have consisted mostly of, on one hand, attempts to identify foundational normative assumptions implicit in Foucault's work, and, on the other hand, attempts to show that Foucault's work discredits the very idea of normative foundations. These attempts have suffered from a lack of clarity about Habermas' notion of normative foundations. In this article I clarify the terms of the debate by considering Habermas' critique of Foucault in light of his moral philosophy. I examine three representative responses to Habermas on Foucault's behalf, which attempt to identify normative foundations in Foucault's work, and I show why none of them meets Habermas' requirements. Finally, I argue that while Foucault's political judgments cannot have normative foundations, Foucault does adhere to the principles of Habermas' discourse ethics, and his doing so does not conflict with his genealogical approach

CLARITY · Discourse ethics · Epistemology · Michel foucault · Normative · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality Studies · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy, Sociology, Political Theory

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