The Theory of Communicative Action tends to presuppose much of his work on the reconstruction of historical materialism, and in particular the understanding of evolution as a process by whi…
The Theory of Communicative Action tends to presuppose much of his work on the reconstruction of historical materialism, and in particular the understanding of evolution as a process by which societies respond to crises through the institutionalization of learning potentials. In cognitive utterances one asserts the propositional content, while in non-cognitive utterances one merely mentions it. Habermas&s;s early presentation of systematically distorted communication draws heavily upon the account of psychoanalysis given in Knowledge and Human Interests. The illocutionary force of speech acts has, for Habermas, a rational foundation. In suggesting that illocutionary force has a rationality, Habermas is responding to the problem posed by Wittgenstein&s;s game analogy. Discourse is characterized as that form of argument that is pursued once the assertive force of the propositional content has been suspended. The lifeworld is thus a source of solidarity, and as such cultural values cannot be questioned as a totality.