The Possibility Of Public Reason In Value Pluralist Society

Value diversity has been widely recognized as a common phenomenon in modern society. It is an objective description about different values pursuits or different value judgments held by people in modern social life. For Liberalism, They not only recognize and accept this social reality, but also criticizing social consensus and supporting for pluralism by denying the existence of public reason, Which will turn the value diversity into a normative theory argument——the value pluralism. Once the "plurality" joins with the "ism", it will make a sharp contrast with the other normative political demand——political universalism. If the political pluralism supports social form of the value diversity through denying the existence public reason, political universalism demonstrates the consensus of political value, the normative of political system and stability of political order through supporting the existence of social public reason. One side is the pluralism which is basis on the social value diversity and the other side is the universalism which is pursuit of social basic consensus. They are the two major contents of social political development since we entered into the human civilization history. Now the question is that today we take different values and different cultures for granted but can we establish a political order which makes our world peace and no problem? The fundamental issue here is that is there a possibility of public reason in value diversity society? This thesis puts forward Political Reason Theory through an effective comprehensive of two different public reason views by Rawls and Habermas to prove the existence of public reason in value diversity society. So the thesis is divided into three parts:Chapter one briefly introduces the tensions between political pluralism and political universalism. There are many pre-existing academic achievements about this question and some problems to be solved. This part also defines basic concepts of public reason and explains the basic characteristics of public reason theory through differentiating and analyzing the concepts about ration individual ration and public reason. In this part we also introduce several typical public reason views especially the views of Rawls and Habermas in western academic history. By these introductions we can know public reason concept well and realize the importance of the question about the possibility of public reason in value diversity society from a more macro perspective view.In the second chapter, we analysis the dialogue between Rawls and Habermas. In view of the dilemma of Kant's categorical imperative which is the basis of practical ration in value pluralism society, Rawls and Habermas separately proposed different concepts of public reason according to their theoretical system, which is attempt to save the reasonable components of civil autonomy in Kant's theoretical ideas. As the differences in their theoretical models of public reason and political philosophy traditions, Rawls and Habermas turned out some theoretical differences in the fields of Epistemology, Ethics and Politics, which is reflected in their dialogue. With the perspective of the possibility of public reason in value pluralism society, we can get some interpretation and enlightenment from the classic dialogue by Rawls and Habermas.The third chapter puts forward Political Reason Theory base on two different public reason theory forms by Rawls and Habermas. Political Reason Theory wants to construct a feasible public reason mode in value diversity society. Political reason claims a reasonable political action which deals with three pairs of relations well. The first relation is the overall regularity and individual regional of political development. The second one is general political moral and individual political preferences and the third is the substance justice and procedure legality of the political rules. Political reason is intent to realize the certainty of political development, the compatibility of political ethics and the legitimacy of political law.Value pluralism is the product of the development by modern political rationalism. Because of the lack of public reason, there are tensions between the technology rationality and value rationality and the rational universality demands and individual self-consciousness. It also leads to the value conflict dilemma among individuals, groups and organizations. So reconstructing a public reason concept which is compatible with value diversity is the way of resolving the conflicts between universality and diversity, the public and individual.