18 - Another philosopher-citizen: the political philosophy of Charles Taylor

Summary

In paying tribute to Jürgen Habermas on his eightieth birthday, Charles Taylor described the octogenerian as

an exemplary public intellectual. He has never been content simply with writing, teaching, and discussing philosophy. Unremittingly and with great courage he has intervened in the important debates of our time.…One might almost say that theory and practice are organically linked in the thought of Habermas…[who] lives his philosophy, with a kind of passionate integrity.

Taylor goes on to portray Habermas as “articulating two profound changes in the consciousness of the later 20th Century,” both of which center on the concept of dialogue. The first profound change, which was philosophical in nature, challenged the monological turn taken by modern Western philosophy with the work of René Descartes. The second occurred within Western political cultures through the growing demand that democracies become more fully representative of their populations’ diversity. Seeking what Taylor calls a renegotiation of the political contract, groups previously excluded from the political mainstream agitated for fuller inclusion. As Taylor points out in his homage to Habermas, such renegotiation can only be conducted dialogically.