Jürgen Habermass Idea of Justice and Solidarity in Language

Rational discourse is an integral part of communicative activity in Habermas's philosophy. The authoress argues that such discourse can only proceed in the situation of idealized conversation characterized by fair and equal treatment of all participants. She strives to describe it more precisely, and maintains that in its ideal form a conversation must take all vital human interests into account in order to eliminate situations when dialogue violates principles of justice. Most importantly we need to take note of emancipatory interests, which in turn imply recognition of technical and practical interests. She also highlights Habermas's ethics of discourse, which resembles Kantian ethics but relies on the dialogue paradigm rather than on monologues. In Habermas's philosophy ethics of discourse is not only instrumental in bringing about justice, but also fosters solidarity between the speaker and the listener. Only when justice and solidarity are vigorously pursued the ideal speech situation can retain its three essential requirements: full participation, symmetry and freedom of discussion.