Adorno concluded that modern reason produced Auschwitz. Habermas agreed with the diagnosis and rejected the conclusion. In this episode, Clóvis de Barros Filho and I explain how Habermas broke with Adorno and arrived at an idea that changes the foundation of the legitimacy of law: a law is only legitimate if it can be justified to those it obligates, within a process that all those affected could recognize as just.

Reason is not an inner attribute of the individual; it is produced in dialogue free from coercion, where the only valid argument is the best argument.

📚 THIS VIDEO IS PART OF THE SERIES "MARXISM AND LAW AS DOMINATION"
The complete series is in the channel's playlist.

⏱ CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction — the Marxists who gave up on revolution?

03:00 Habermas reacts to Adorno — and the reaction changes everything
06:00 Reason is produced in intersubjectivity, not in the individual
09:00 Theory of Communicative Action — 1981
12:00 Instrumental reason vs. communicative reason — the father and the son
18:00 The four conditions of legitimate discourse
24:00 The ideal speech situation — the argument that wins is the best, not the strongest
30:00 The colonization of the lifeworld by systems
38:00 Legitimacy of law through dialogue — what this changes in legal theory
45:00 Habermas at 95 years old — why he still hasn't accepted Adorno's pessimism

👤 WHO ARE THEY?
Clóvis de Barros Filho — philosopher, professor and communicator.

Eduardo Koetz — lawyer, entrepreneur, founder of ADVBOX and enthusiast of AI and philosophy applied to legal management.

🔗 LEARN MORE
Eduardo's Instagram: @eduardokoetz
Clóvis's Instagram: @clovisdebarros