Abstract:

The most provocative and crucial argument of Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action is the claim that the parties participating in communicative action can reach an understanding and agreement in any case if they aim to reach an agreement, not to dominate/oppress or manipulate each other. This claim, which is at the core of his social theory as a whole, requires an analysis of the conditions for reaching an agreement in communicative action. In this regard, Habermas provides the most detailed analysis of these conditions from the linguistic perspective in his article: “What Is Universal Pragmatics?” This article discusses Habermas’ linguistic justification for the Theory of Communicative Action through an elaborative reading of “What Is Universal Pragmatics?”