According to Jürgen Habermas, as a human action,communication is the front plan at the very moment when it will form theessence of human actions. Communicative action theory is not addressed in language,linguistic terms, semiotic, semantic, indicative scientific aspects. The concept of communicative action is related to theinteraction of at least two persons with interpersonal affiliation, which isthe language and the ability to act. Communicative actions arise in environments where it is possibleto express the opinions of all participants on equal terms. In the model of communicative action, those who have theability to speak and act communicate rationally through language. The subjects in the act are based on theculture in which they claim their claims, Communicative action takes place in a social context thatHabermas defines as the world of life.
The world of life for Habermas is thearea in which the people who act in an effort to cope with situations are incommunicative action. In the life world of Habermas, the daily life dimensionbrought about by the knowledge, traditions and habits in the life of the lifeand this means the social processes bringing the idea of ??unity betweenindividuals through this dimension. world is jointly integrated with theconcept of communicative action based on the interpretation process. The communicative act occurs when the speaker’s intentionis understood in the process of communicating about certain contents. Habermas takes Marxist thought as a starting point in amore open and thought-provoking way, and points out that his purpose is not inthe overcoming of Marxist theory, but in his reconstruction.Habermas criticizes the legitimization of public policydecisions by means of representative democracies; instead they argue that theyshould be produced as a result of a process based on public consultation.
Habermas takes this as a social issue, not as anindividual issue, but as a useful framework for public policy. At the basis of Habermas’s communication action theorylies the problem of communication reaching consensus of those who have theability to speak and act in communication. Habermas is not against rationalitybut thinks it is an object of all kinds of rationality. Let’s continue with acurrent example to better understand this theory. The events of Gezi Park started in May 2013.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality of TaksimGezi Park to break down a part of the five trees from there to work to hear thework in the of the small number of young people to protect the park with thepurpose of the collecting around the end of the event took place.Eventually, things got more and more widespread.. Thegovernment’s harsh reaction has caused the events to grow even more. Actions arespread all over Turkey. In the meantime, although the main purpose seems to benature lover, nature lover is just a mask. The main aim of the actions is aprotest against the attitude of the government.
I will interpret this according to Habermass’s theory ofcommunicative action. Habermas refers to the theory of communicative actionthat people themselves and other people of society are motivated by means ofsocially coordinated activities or actions and that these actions are carriedout through communication.These actions are made up of people with differentthoughts, beliefs, lifestyles and political beliefs.
These actions are communicative actions because thesepeople have interacted to fight against crisis. Habermas refers to theinteraction of people to fight against crisis as communicative action.According to Habermas, communicative actions occur inenvironments where all participants have the opportunity to express their viewson equal terms. The communicative act occurs when the speaker’s intention isunderstood in the process of communicating in a certain context.
In these events, people expressed themselves equally.Despite thought and other differences, these people meet under a pot. So there is ideal speech.
According toHabermas, the emergence of a rational discourse depends on the emergence ofideal speech. The ideal speech environment must have certain characteristics. Habermas are called these features, speechethics.These include generality, discourse, validity claim,autonomy, ideal role taking, consensus, power neutrality and transparency. In the model of communicative action, people with speechand action pass rational communication through language. Language here is not just sounds or symbols. People who dothese actions have rationalized communication for a purpose.
These people haveacted for common purposes that are obviously rational potential. These people tried to reach a consensus with thegovernment through their comments and comments. But what the government has done the preventedthis communication for a long time. Becausethis attitude of power and the inequalities between the two sides haveprevented a healthy communication.
According to Habermas, the strategic action of thegovernment is to make the government accept the alternative which serves forits own purposes rather than reaching common purpose and communicating. This problem should be tackled in a deliberative democracy,because when people think that they allow enough deliberations to give their decisions, theytend to see their decisions as legitimate and increase their acceptance. In this way, communication would be established and acommon framework would be drawn. According to Habermas, whatever the argumentis, there is a frame common to both, beyond the point of view.
