Lifeworld and Law in the work of Jürgen Habermas

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the theoretical evolution of the terms lifeworld and Law in the work of Jürgen Habermas: firstly, in the book “Theory of communicative action”, and secondly in his more recent work, “Between facts and norms”. At the first stage, Habermas considers the lifeworld as the major element of social integration, sometimes placing Law as a legitimate institution, sometimes emphasizing its role as a colonizer of the lifeworld. On the other hand, in the second book, we can see an intellectually more mature Habermas, who understands that democratic Law is the primary medium of social integration in modern pluralist societies.