Abstract

GONZALEZ DE REQUENA, Juan Antonio. The Public Spirit in Democratic Age: Tocqueville on Public Sphere and Political Culture. Estud. filos. práct. hist. ideas [online]. 2012, vol.14, n.2, pp.45-56. ISSN 1851-9490.

Current debate over the role of "public sphere" in modern politics does not presuppose a single conception of the "public". Habermas' reconstruction of public sphere stresses the inclusive openness of discursive interaction through civil society, but also its political effects in providing reflexive legitimization and a rational formation of opinion. Public sphere is related also to appearing in common and acting together; or it is linked with public political culture, with social codes of expression and modes of presentation between others, with public opinion and with the multiple publics of modern civil society. Tocqueville proposes a qualified and multidimensional interpretation of the public spirit in modern democratic revolution. So, he goes beyond rationalist and idealized interpretations of public sphere (as a comprehensive realm of discursive consensus); through Tocqueville's interpretation of democratic society and political culture, the possibility of a de-centered and asymmetrical public sphere is outlined.

Keywords : Public Sphere; Public Spirit; Public Opinion; Literate Publicity; Political Culture.

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