A ética do discurso e o modelo dos consensos democráticos: uma réplica a J. Eisenberg / Discourse ethics and the model of democratic consensus: a reply to J. Eisenberg

RESUMO

The present article is a critical analysis of the model proposed by José Eisenberg in "Justificação, Aplicação e Consenso: Notas sobre Democracia e Deliberação" (Dados, 44(1):195-213, 2001), which aims to explain the genesis of political arrangements in contemporary democracies. The articleÆs analysis focuses on Jürgen HabermasÆ "discourse ethics" concepts, adopted by the model in question as its main theoretical reference. Based on the works of the German philosopher and social theorist, the article seeks to demonstrate that these concepts were initially developed from the Habermasian notion of discourse and, consequently, are not based on empirical consensus, as the model under analysis suggests. The article also points to other problems in the modelÆs theoretical consistency and suggests an approach for its improvement