COMMUNICATIVE ETHICS, THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND COMMUNICATION MEDIA

The normative assumptions and likely practical consequences of Jurgen Habermas's communicative ethics and related conception of the public s phere have been the topic of much critical discussion. After reviewing some of the general features of Habermas's moral theory, I take up cr iticisms directed at his conception of the self or moral agency, his a ssumptions about the generalizability of human interests, and the supp osed utopianism of his theory. In each case I argue that more charitab le and attractive readings of his position are possible and desirable. I conclude with some general remarks about the potential role of mass communication media within his normative account of the public sphere .