Public sphere, common sense, and public opinion

Abstract

The central problem of this study lies in how the structural transformations of the public sphere impact the formation and mobilization of common sense, in a scenario where communication becomes increasingly mediated by digital technologies and social networks. With this, the need arises to reflect on the changes in the public sphere, the influence of public opinion, and the contradictions that emerge from this new context. This study seeks to examine these issues in light of the theory of the public sphere proposed by Jürgen Habermas. The objective of this research is to analyze the main transformations of the contemporary public sphere, identifying its structural characteristics and the contradictions that arise in its new format. Furthermore, it seeks to understand how common sense is articulated with public opinion and what implications this has for civic participation and the exercise of democracy. To this end, the relationship between these concepts will be explored, highlighting their influences and tensions in current social and political practices. The analysis is based on the reconstruction of the notion of the public sphere in Habermas and the characteristics of the new structural change of the public sphere. We present the contradictions of the Habermasian ‘new public sphere’, questioning the feasibility of a truly democratic public sphere. From this evaluation, we make explicit the relationship between common sense, as a form of massive and intuitive knowledge, and public opinion, investigating how it is a phenomenon of the contradiction of opinion in its immediate expression. Thus, common sense and opinion suffer the impact of communication technologies in this process.