Link to Index of Weekly Class Versions Joint Declaration

Dear Habermas Logo and Link to Site Index A Justice Site

Collaborative Sites

Mirror Sites: CSUDH - Habermas - UWP
Transcend Art and Peace Site

Transcending Distance
Transcending Distance

Caliifornia State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest Update: August 2, 2001
E-Mail jeannecurran@habermas.org
E-Mail takata@uwp.edu
E-Mail Olivier Urbain

A Joint Declaration
Posted on August 2, 2001, to the Transcend Art and Peace Network.

Dear All :

‘Dear Habermas’ is the title of Jeanne Curran and Susan Takata's electronic journal and it is based on a book by Jurgen Habermas entitled ‘Between Facts and Norms’ which calls for peaceful coexistence through a system of law.

They use painting and drawing in their classes to allow students to focus on creative endeavors, and not on the authority of the ‘teacher’. Here is a short summary of why we think Habermas’s philosophy constitutes a good basis to study about justice and peace. We have found numerous common points between the philosophy behind ‘Dear Habermas’ and the TRANSCEND method and Liberationist pedagogy at the core of the ‘TAP Network’ philosophy. What follows is an attempt to reinforce the bonds between our two networks.

‘Dear Habermas’ and the ‘TAP Network’ : a few words about Jurgen Habermas (by Jeanne Curran and Olivier Urbain)

In today’s world, people do not have enough freedom, and our society has come to a crisis. To create a new epoch where people will enjoy more freedom, Jurgen Habermas believes that the solution is ‘Communicative Action’. This means that people should be able to say what they think, disagree, discuss, and more importantly for Habermas, should also be able to agree and make plans for common action .

Habermas agrees with Marx that there must be a ‘perspective transformation’ and with Paulo Freire that both oppressor and oppressed need ‘conscientisation’. We also need a legal system of governance which allows its participants to provide feedback and to change the system itself.

To summarize, Habermas believes that there is hope and that people can create a society with more freedom for the individual, providing the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • a legal system of governance that allows for feedback and change
  • an acceptance of, and respect for diversity, recognizing that no single perspective has the key to it all.
  • the capacity of individuals to use reason and to discuss with each other, being able to agree and make new plans through a process of ‘Communicative Action.’

These few elements taken from Jurgen Habermas’s complex and sophisticated philosophical system are at the core of both the ‘Dear Habermas’ and the ‘TAP Network’ endeavors. Both research sites

  • allow for feedback and change thanks to web design technology
  • allow for diversity and differences through inclusion of all participants
  • allow for ‘Communicative Action’ through e-group discussions.

We would like to invite you to compare both sites and send your ideas :

http://www.habermas.org
http://www.succ.soka.ac.jp/~our/TAP.html

Moreover, ‘Dear Habermas’ which offers numerous opportunities for creative writing, has started to collaborate with ‘Students’Art for Peace’ which allows for the exchange of fine arts and music between students from different countries and cultural backgrounds.

http://art-for-peace.org

Based on the TAP classification of art into Literature, Cinema, Fine Arts, Performing Arts and Special Arts, these two websites already offer possibilities concerning three of them, namely writing, drawing, painting and music.

We hope to see more common work between our two networks.

Best regards to all,

Jeanne Curran and Olivier Urbain