Habermas and the Impasse of Universalism

Özet

As a contemporary universalist, Jürgen Habermas appropriates Kant’s practical philosophy. He insists, however, that no cultural difference may be disrespected in the name of universalism. Rather, only those moral norms that are accepted by every participant, regardless of their cultural background, of a rational-moral debate are universal. My aim, in this paper, is to show that Habermasian universalism is not co-tenable with the cultural differences he endeavors to incorporate into his Kantian paradigm. In order to reach my aim, I shall, first, review Habermasian discourse ethics. In the second section, I shall focus on the history of sexuality to test the tenability of Habermasian universalism.