Raphael’s School of Athens [Image from Singulart]
Dr Lucy Richardson
WEEK 2:
The concept of the
Public Sphere
Jurgen Habermas (1929-)
• German philosopher (also sociology, history, political science, critical
theory)
• Associated with the Frankfurt School
• Informed by experiences of World
War II and rise of Nazism/Holocaust
• Led to thinking about use of media,
politics as spectacle
2
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Background of ‘the Public Sphere’
4 historical periods:
Ancient
Feudal
Bourgeois
Contemporary
• those deemed to be ‘citizens’ (white, male,
wealthy) interact in the marketplace/‘polis’
(city) and debate
• hierarchical structure of monarchy, court,
aristocracy; ‘the people’ as spectators
• shift to parliaments; rise of the press, public
meeting spaces
• with complex media structures, where has
power/spaces for debate shifted to?
Photo by Lara Jameson from Pexels
Habermas: preliminary demarcation
• Public vs private domains
• Media: “an attribute of whatever attracts public opinion”
• Historically, “publicness of representation” = status
achieved through land/ wealth/birth
• Acceleration of the nation means taxation, other
bureaucracy; economic activity becomes national, public,
interconnected
• ‘Civil society’ emerges through a “reading public”
See other slides on Histories for this week
5Terms and concepts
The Public Sphere
• “By ‘the public sphere’ we mean first of all a realm of our social life in which
something approaching public opinion can be formed. Access is guaranteed to
all citizens. A portion of the public sphere comes into being in every
conversation in which private individuals assemble to form a public body”
(Habermas, 1984: 49).
Life Worlds
• The shared “domains of action”; our everyday world, including informal, cultural
and social interactions
Photo by Henri Mathieu-Saint-Laurent from Pexels
Ideal speech situation
(Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action, 1990: 43-115)
Certain contexts required for an “ideal speech” situation to occur:
1. Every subject with the competence to speak and act is allowed to take
part in discourse.
2. Everyone is allowed to question any assertion whatever.
3. Everyone is allowed to introduce any assertion whatever into the
discourse.
4. Everyone is allowed to express their attitudes, desires and needs
without any hesitation.
5. No speaker may be prevented, by internal or external coercion, from
exercising his rights as laid down in (1) and (2)
Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels
Contemporary capitalism
Beyond historical conditions, Habermas was concerned with problems of
contemporary capitalism:
• Political apathy (linked to rise in consumerism)
• Splitting of ‘public’ from ‘politics’
• Media as source of power:
“a manipulated public sphere in which states and corporations use
‘publicity’ in the modern sense to secure for themselves a kind of
plebiscitary acclamation” (Outhewaite 1994)
Photo by Diva Plavalaguna from Pexels
Criticisms of the Public Sphere
Lunt and Livingston (2013):
• ‘civil society’ ideal not reflected in real social/political organization
• Does not address many instances of exclusion (gender, class,
ethnicity …)
• Underestimates later human rights movements; public institutions
(e.g. public broadcasting)
• Power now operates not just nationally, but across global networks
• ‘Mass media’ is now dispersed, networked media
• Is ‘consensus’ possible; and does a unified public sphere exist?
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Questions
Habermas addressed most of these criticisms in later work
1. Where is power used to control and coerce; and where is it
used/obtained through consent?
2. What is the contemporary role of media institutions in fostering public
spheres (opinion, political participation, ethics/values, governance)?
(ABC News 2023, 23 Feb)
Broader public sphere idea(l): Case study 1
Russia-Ukraine war
• Russian journalists
arguing against Russian
propaganda
• Powers vs consent?
• What powers does
‘consent’ by election
support?
• What are the roles of
private and public
media/journalists in the
Public Sphere?
Broader public sphere idea(l): Case study 2
Dutton Snapchat scandal:
• Opposition leader Peter
Dutton’s 18 year old son’s
photo leaked holding bag of
unknown powder
• Powers vs consent?
• What powers should media have
for bringing ‘news’ to public
attention?
• Is public consent necessary for
such decisions?
• How would such consent be
provided?
(ABC MediaWatch, 2024, 1 July)
Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels
Key questions for later weeks/topics
• As an ideal of access and rational debate, how useful is the public
sphere as a concept?
• Can it be retro-fitted to apply to contemporary social and media worlds
(not just older, Western ones)?
• What is the role of the media?
• What is the role of individuals?
• What is the role of the state?