Abstract

This paper explores the philosophical debate between Muguerza and Habermas, starting with the meeting of the two in the summer of 1994 in Madrid. To this end, some of the core aspects of their respective ethical and legal thoughts are interpreted and apostilled, both in their agreements and in their disagreements. The text focuses on the controversy between two of their apparently irreducible positions. Namely, the “primacy of the moral conscience of the individual”, defended by Muguerza, and the “primacy of the legal law of society”, advocated by Habermas. The paper concludes by suggesting a third approach, which methodically tempers the controversy, in reference to the duality of the “individual” constituted in-intra-societal relationship, and the “society” instituted by individuals-in-inter-relationship