A Study Of Habermas's Theory Of The Public Sphere In "The Structural Transformation Of The Public Sphere

As a hot topic in the study of modern philosophy,the public sphere is a theoretical tool for in-depth analysis of today’s society and proper solution of social problems.Based on different positions,many scholars such as Hannah Arendt,Joseph Alois Schumpeter,John Dewey and Charles Taylor have conducted profound research and discussion on it from different perspectives such as philosophy,politics and sociology.It can be seen that,Public sphere is still an inevitable and important topic for scholars to study social reality,and it is a necessary part of philosophy,politics,sociology,history and other disciplines.Habermas,as the master of theory of public sphere,studied the public sphere through the whole stage of his thought.He constantly enriched and improved theory of public sphere all his life,which laid a solid theoretical foundation for the study of theory of public sphere.On the basis of inheriting other scholars’ thoughts on publicity and the public sphere,Habermas further defined the concept of the public sphere,systematically summarized the theoretical content of the public sphere,comprehensively explained the operation mechanism,function and structural transformation of the public sphere,and formed a complex theory of the public sphere,and wrote The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere.It provides a new paradigm for the study of modern social problems.Inheriting Frankfurt’s critical tradition,Habermas pointed out the transformation of the public sphere in structure and function.Based on this,through a deep understanding of the concept of public opinion,the restoration of the principle of public criticism and extensive social participation of citizens to construct an idealized public sphere,Habermas stressed the need to rebuild the bourgeois public sphere.In The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere,Habermas first abandoned the traditional interpretation of the concept of publicity,and reinterpreted it based on the category of political philosophy.He further analyzed the social background,ideological origin,historical evolution and structural transformation of the public sphere in a comprehensive and deep way,and built up a huge and complex theoretical system of the public sphere.First of all,in the special social background of Germany’s reconstruction after World War II,Habermas deeply recognized the various crises of modern capitalist society and believed that it is necessary to find a development path with broad participation of citizens in order to overcome the social crisis and get rid of the dilemma of democracy.At the same time,inspired by Hegel,Arendt,Marx,Weber and many other ideas,he more clearly understood the inherent nature of the public sphere.Secondly,Habermas described in detail the prerequisite,historical type,social structure and functional role of the public sphere.The public sphere mentioned by him refers to the sphere of social life in which private individuals participate in public affairs and discuss social issues with the help of radio,television and other media,so as to form public opinion and exert certain influence on public power.Later,in capitalist society,the critical principle of publicity was gradually replaced by manipulativeness,the discussion and participation functions of mass media were increasingly replaced by private propaganda,and the role of social subjects was also alienated from the public who criticized culture to the mass who consumed culture.The structure and function of the bourgeois public sphere have undergone a series of transformations,leading to the gradual loss of the public sphere.Therefore,Habermas stressed the need to restore the critical principle of public sphere,deeply understand the specific connotation of public opinion,and construct an idealized type of public sphere.Although limited by the historical and cultural context of capitalist society,Habermas’ s theory of public sphere has great limitations in guiding the development of contemporary capitalist society and other countries,with a relatively obvious Utopian color.However,Habermas’ in-depth analysis and comprehensive interpretation of the public sphere based on the framework of practical philosophy has inspired the social transformation and modernization of contemporary China.Attaching importance to the rational spirit and sense of participation of social subjects,constantly expanding the carrier space of public participation in affairs and discourse expression,thus creating a free,equal,open and inclusive social environment,which has important reference significance for promoting the transformation of social modernization and taking the Chinese-style modernization road well.