The Public Sphere
Saturday, October 3, 2009 by M09
This was never explicitly clarified in the lecture and I am not sure whether Habermas himself claims this to be so, but from my perspective, the implicit objective of the public sphere is truth. It seems that for this reason Habermas focuses on the rational argument (notably separate and distinct from the emotional ‘argument’). Certainly, there is no goal more praiseworthy than truth but do his principles actually lead us to truth?
At the heart of his theory is “the force of the better argument”. However, there is no guarantee that the better argument will be accepted by all. This is especially true in the online sphere, where discourse is in fact, commonly, irrational. So often it does come down to who “shouts the loudest” or who charms with the more eloquent rhetoric. Moreover, online users are more commonly information gatherers rather than information searchers, most will not subject ideas to critical analysis or undertake independent research. The ‘echo chamber’ is an example of this, where the objective is to bolster our own beliefs rather than to follow truth wherever it may lead us.
At the heart of his theory is “the force of the better argument”. However, there is no guarantee that the better argument will be accepted by all. This is especially true in the online sphere, where discourse is in fact, commonly, irrational. So often it does come down to who “shouts the loudest” or who charms with the more eloquent rhetoric. Moreover, online users are more commonly information gatherers rather than information searchers, most will not subject ideas to critical analysis or undertake independent research. The ‘echo chamber’ is an example of this, where the objective is to bolster our own beliefs rather than to follow truth wherever it may lead us.