Pat Murray Habermas

For this upcoming class, our reading was titled, “Modernity- An Incomplete Project?” by Jurgen Habermas. I found this piece more difficult than Walter Benjamin [The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction] and have yet to fully establish a true connection between the two works but I’ll give it an attempt in the hopes it establishes a platform for discussion.

I would first like to mention that Habermas had a much more pessimistic outlook on the idea of modernism in relation to Benjamin. The ideas throughout proved to be much more critical and theory based instead of an analysis explaining an evolution [of media] and its relationship to history. The concept wasn’t very grounded and, upon first glance, I personally couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was he wanted to revolve his discussion around, where as the other readings incorporated a specific topic; be it architecture, language, or the media. From what I gathered, Habermas seems to be highly critical of culture. We discussed briefly in class the concept of being able to enjoy something from a non-critical viewpoint; the notion of us playing video games (Fortnite, Angry Birds, etc) and watching TV (or any entertainment medium) for our sole enjoyment as opposed to critiquing its nature and negatively associating it with the logistics of society. Here, it seems that those aspects, the components of modernism themself, are not approved of and never should have been established to begin with. In my opinion, it feels inevitable, and obviously proves to be an aspect of history, but to some, Habermas included, that is not the case. This concept is analyzed further in comparison to the blending of science, law, and art. These three fields of study have become interwoven throughout history where, from Habermas’ perspective, should have continued to progress in their own natural realm. There was and always has been an internal progression amongst each one of these fields with experts amongst each group, however, the progression and advancement of them as individual has lead to the ultimate blending of the three, collaborating on all fronts- science influencing art through technology, art challenging the barriers of science, and morals/ law affecting the ability to play with factors of the three. Unable to become separated now, there is clouded discussion regarding how to handle the changes that occur and how to categorize the events that take place. To add on to that as well, there then becomes a divide between professionals who study certain subjects, and those that simply view and critique. That same audience however, is what establishes the relevance of whatever it is being noted.