The act of public deliberation outweighs its actual argumentative content in easing conflict

Evidence

It is, of course, helpful when the various integration conflicts are thematized sympathetically in the wider public domain and, above all, when the fears and uncertainties fuelled by populist movements are defused. As you yourself hint at, however, the bare political fact that these problems are becoming topics of public deliberation is almost more important than the arguments themselves; in the first instance, it is how these problems are dealt with that initially opens people’s eyes for each other and then may foster mutual respect between self-enclosed groups – the style is the message. — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 78

Categorization

• DEFINE: Habermas here effectively concedes a proceduralist reading of deliberation — process over substance — which is a striking self-description given his cognitivist reputation.
• XREF: Contrasts with Adorno’s deep suspicion of process detached from truth; also the phrase ‘the style is the message’ is an inverted echo of McLuhan worth juxtaposing. — connects to: Deliberative politics is constitutive of democracy, not a regulative ideal — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 54; Concealed deliberation can produce better judgments than open debate; Having better arguments and better manners does not win disputes — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 123 (+7 more)

Related

• Deliberative democracy is agonal dissent atop constitutional consensus, not consensus-seeking talk. (similarity 0.82)
• Deliberative politics is constitutive of democracy, not a regulative ideal (similarity 0.81)
• Not every disagreement requires convincing the other side to achieve value (similarity 0.80)
• Depolarization requires deliberation framed by deliberative-democracy conditions. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Standard argumentation guides fail because opponents are often unwilling to engage factually #corroborates (0.80) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 7
• Democratic elections legitimize only as outcomes of prior public deliberation, not preference aggregation #expands (0.80) — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 94
• Having better arguments and better manners does not win disputes #corroborates (0.78) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 123
• Concealed deliberation can produce better judgments than open debate #complicates (0.75)
• Not every disagreement requires convincing the other side to achieve value #expands (0.75) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 39
• Question-based debate techniques can backfire by humiliating the rhetorical rather than testing the belief #expands (0.75) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 242
• Apocalyptic framing of conflict forecloses dialogue and compromise #corroborates (0.72)
• Conflict rhetoric attributes barbarities to foes so that the persuaded are not self-deceived #expands (0.72) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 708