Abstract

The author describes the relationship between the open public sphere and privacy which, by entering the public sphere, creates a space for secrecy and lack of transparency within the official space. The author discusses the transition from the ancient division into the public area, characterised by overt, open and transparent actions, and the private area, which is hidden in the darkness of the house, to the modern obliteration of the boundary and the clear division between the two areas. The Habermasian diagnosis of modern mass society leads to the conclusion that a certain chimera of concepts, processes and phenomena have been created, both relating to their nature and the meanings they convey associated with secrecy and openness.