Some Remarks on Habermas and Consensus

Abstract

In 1972 J. Habermas develops a ``consensualist'' theory of truth valid for both the social and the objective world. Over the years, he has acknowledged that the objective world differs from the social one for at least one point: the objective world is not reducible to what people can affirm about it, even if it comes from an ``ideal speech situation''. With this issue, he points out a sharp distinction that reminds us that there are other dimensions over the consensual one and these dimensions can put constraints on the freedom of our consensus. Analyzing the relationship that we (as speakers and actors) have with the objective world I set up a pragmatic realism that aims to explain the limits of our pragmatic relationship with the objective world through an external dimension, radicalizing its evidence with respect to Habermas's formulation.