WESTERN EUROPEAN RATIONALISM UNIVERSAL SIGNIFICANCE IN JÜRGEN HABERMAS INTERPRETAION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24919/2522-4700.47.2Keywords:
Western European rationalism, rationality, reason, Frankfurt school, critical theory, Marxism, cultural phenomenon, modernizationAbstract
The purpose of the article is to analyze the main features of European rationalism in its claim to be universal philosophy from Jürgen Habermas perspective. Methodological principles of the study are descriptive method, phenomenological method and comparative method respectively. Scientific Novelty. What aspects determine the specificity of Western culture’s rationality? Western Europe has achieved remarkable results in its development, starting with the formation of the practical philosophy of the New Age, the cultural and creative achievements of the Enlightenment, when the process of rationalization of European states in the context of capitalist modernization of Europe is unfolding. At the same time, the author traces the process of gradual loss of certain classical features and ontological significance of the Enlightenment mind and its transformation into a cultural and historical mind in the context of the formation of non-classical rationality. Habermas points out the essence of the modern discourse on rationality, which he associates with the Frankfurt School, which carried out a radical critique of instrumental reason in the persons of Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Gerber Marcuse, Erich Fromm and others, pointing out the insufficient argumentation and justification of this critique. On the other hand, Habermas examines the theory of rationality by M. Weber, who considers Western European rationalism to be a cultural phenomenon of universal significance. Habermas examines Weber's theory of rationalization in the context of the meaning of the modern era and the causes and consequences of capitalist modernization of society, where universal rational activity, rationalized worldviews and rational lifestyles are an integral part of it. The author defines a wide typological palette of M. Weber’s theory of rationality, including religious, cultural, social, ethical, economic, legal, cognitive rationality. Conclusions. The problem of rationality is studied by Habermas in the context of the evolutionary perspective of the emergence of the Modern understanding of the world at three levels: metatheoretical, methodological and empirical. In order to reveal the organic connection between the theory of rationality and the theory of society at the metatheoretical level, Habermas shows the implication of rationality from the sociological concepts of action that are relevant today. At the methodological level, the philosopher draws attention to the fact that similar implications result from understanding the meaning of substantive approaches to the object field of sociology. Therefore, a theory of communicative action is crucial to complete the level of argumentation.
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