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Jürgen Habermas: Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie, vol. 1, Die okzidentale Konstellation von Glauben und Wissen, and vol. 2, Vernünftige Freiheit: Spuren des Diskurses über Glauben und Wissen. (Suhrkamp Verlag: Berlin, 2019. Pp. 1752.)
Habermas's latest book does not question the place he assigns to religion. He still argues that it is only relevant for modern societies when translated into “secular” terms and that it cannot recover the important role it once played for science and philosophy. In AGPh, however, Habermas fills a different gap by addressing the philosophically interesting and politically pressing question of moral motivation.
Although Kant continues to play a leading role in AGPh, the book goes beyond him. This is clear in Habermas's postmetaphysical conception of motivation, which connects individual and collective processes of moral learning. At first sight, this notion of the encouragement to act reasonably or rationally might seem to represent a psychologically meager proposal. However, it unfolds its explosive power against the background of additional assumptions concerning trust, mourning, and the openness of the future. Despite its strengths, Habermas's narrative of progress has a blind spot, as it is insufficiently dialectical.
1. Postmetaphysical Motivation
In AGPh Habermas develops a theory of motivation based on a contrast between transcendental and ontological approaches. His question regarding moral motivation is initially situated in the theological tradition of hope. Understood in these terms, what one hopes for is the personal salvation of one's soul. Unfortunately, a postmetaphysical theory of motivation cannot access the religious sources on which the assurance of salvation draws. In this respect, the encouragement to act morally must be effective without the religious certainty concerning a divine plan of salvation.
The shift in emphasis from Kant to Habermas is already clear: ambitious concepts of hope in theology and in the philosophy of religion are translated into a conceptually manageable notion of encouragement. The transcendental idea of God is replaced by an empirically informed understanding of history. And confidence in inner-worldly transcendence is replaced by a reflexive practice that appropriates the world by questioning its political constitution. Habermas sees this rational justification of political conditions as a decisive motivating force of social change. Proceeding in an archeological manner, he uncovers a history of humanity that provides reasons...