Diskursethik

Diskursethik, or discourse ethics, is a moral philosophy developed by German philosopher Jürgen Habermas. It proposes that moral norms are valid only if they could be agreed upon by all potentially affected parties in a rational discourse. The core idea is that the legitimacy of moral rules is not derived from divine authority, tradition, or individual intuition, but from the process of open and rational communication.

The central concept is the ideal speech situation, a hypothetical scenario where all participants have equal opportunities to speak, question, and introduce arguments. In this ideal setting, any norm proposed would be tested for its universalizability and acceptability to all involved. The process of discourse aims to reach consensus through reasoned argumentation, free from coercion or manipulation.

Diskursethik emphasizes the importance of communication in establishing and justifying ethical principles. It suggests that by engaging in this form of reasoned dialogue, societies can collectively determine what constitutes just and moral behavior. The theory seeks to provide a procedure for determining the rightness of actions rather than prescribing specific moral rules. It is a procedural ethics that focuses on how we can arrive at ethical truths together.