Beyond Rationality: Reimagining Habermasian Public Sphere As A Pedagogical Foundation For Communicative Competence

This study aims to examine and integrate Jürgen Habermas’s theory of communicative action within contemporary pedagogical frameworks to address the crisis of the modern public sphere. It seeks to provide a theoretical basis for cultivating leaders who possess not only spiritual integrity but also robust critical reasoning and an inclusive disposition towards social reality. The research employs a qualitative-philosophical literature review, specifically analyzing Habermas’s concept of communicative rationality. This framework is further enriched by integrating the existential ethics of Emmanuel Levinas and Martin Buber to broaden the understanding of human interaction within discursive spaces. The results indicate that reimagining the public sphere as an egalitarian arena, modeled after the historical "Coffee House", allows for the flourishing of theological, philosophical, and socio-political discourse free from the constraints of hierarchy or dogma. The study finds that authentic communication must transcend mere rational argumentation, evolving into a profound site for the recognition of human dignity and the "Face" of the Other. This research recommends a fundamental transformation of educational institutions by implementing a "Habermasian Philosophical Coffee House" as a socio-educational laboratory.