Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction: deconstructing Habermas
Let¿s have a ¿discussion¿!
A hospitable reading
From rational reconstruction to deconstruction
Chapter one: The aporias of rational consensus
Rational consensus
The violence of consensus: Jean-François Lyotard
¿A more inclusive model of communication¿: Iris Marion Young
¿Back to the rough ground¿: Chantal Mouffe
The aporia of rational consensus
From aim to process: ¿das Nein-sagen-Können¿
Rational (re)constructions
Conclusion
Chapter two: ¿A bizarre, even opaque practice¿: constitutionalism and democracy
Introduction: constitutionalism and democracy
The co-originality thesis
Vicious circularity and infinite regress
In the ¿whirlpool of temporality¿
Undecidability and fictions
¿A bizarre, even opaque practice¿: theoretical and political strategies
Towards a deconstructive alternative
Chapter three: The inclusion of the other? Tolerance
Introduction: the inclusion of the other and the paradox of tolerance
Inclusion through distinction
Blurring the distinction
The threshold of tolerance
Tolerance, equality and inequality
The destruction of tolerance or a deconstructive tolerance?
Chapter four: Civil disobedience within the limits of deliberative reason alone
Introduction: civil disobedience as litmus test
Definition: civil disobedience within the limits of public reason and constitutional democracy
Between legality and legitimacy
Not yet or to come? Realizing the principles of constitutional democracy
Between majority rule and rational consensus
Who decides?
Civil disobedience without the guidance of deliberative reason: maturity

Responsibility
Conclusion
Chapter five: Towards an ethics of discussion
Introduction
What is philosophy? What is reason?
In defence of democracy
Responding
Bibliography
Notes
Index