A liberdade de expressão e a esfera pública no contexto da democracia moderna: uma análise crítica do modelo de Habermas

Abstract

This dissertation problematizes Jürgen Habermas’ concept of the public sphere considering the meaning of free speech that it implies, in order to comprehend the discursive dynamic involved in the public opinion formation. It explores the definition of the public sphere by the procedural paradigm to better place it in the framework of modern democracy, bearing in mind how challenging it is to integrate and coordinate a society intrinsically heterogenous. It also examines the communicative architecture of the public sphere in light of Habermas’ idea of tolerance, which is construed as a precept of mutual respect and qualitative equality. In the political and social realm, tolerance acts as a force that limits free speech and states who can participate in the construction of public opinion, which discourses can compete for acceptance and what are the possible outcomes of the procedure. To verify the adequacy of the suggested limitation, this research builds on liberal and republican jusphilosophical traditions in the field of free speech so to clarify the reasons for its defense and restriction, and then associates them with the interpretation given to the public sphere. In the end, it argues in favor of a possible rereading of Habermas' model and invites the reader to reflect upon the categories –participation, deliberation, freedom, equality, public opinion – that structures an unfinished, open and constitutively conflicted democratic project.