ABSTRACT
For a long time Habermas’ social philosophy and contemporary feminism evolved in mutual indifference. When feminists did occasionally turn their attention in his direction, the judgment was usually negative and sometimes even scathing. In the last decade this stand-off has changed significantly, with many now well-known figures like Nancy Fraser and Seyla Benhabib articulating their concerns in the language of critical theory and engaging various aspects of the Habermasian oeuvre. On his own side, Habermas has responded to this mixed reception by going to some pains in his recent work to establish the relevance of his project to feminist concerns. 1 The following chapter will review the extent to which main formulations in Habermas’ mature work have responded to feminist objections to early versions of his critical theory. I will use this discussion as a prism through which to draw up a balance sheet of some of the achievements and some of the limitations of Habermas’ framework. In particular, I want to suggest that Habermas’ developed account of the modern public sphere offers itself as a clarification of those dimensions of liberal normativity that a Western feminist movement has been able to appropriate via its own creative reinterpretations. The chapter will also explore the source of an ongoing alienation between certain feminist accounts of the meaning of emancipation and Habermas’ commitment to the idea of completing the democratic project of Enlightenment. Feminism is a complex and internally divided social movement that has been vitalized by Romantic as well as Enlightenment hopes. These former critical motivations have clearly felt unable to achieve full recognition within the limited terms set by Habermas’ construction of emancipatory hopes.
