Jürgen Habermas

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Jürgen Habermas (born June 18, 1929 in Düsseldorf, Germany) is a philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory. His work has been called Neo-Marxist, and focuses on the foundations of social theory and epistemology, the analysis of advanced capitalist industrial society and of democracy and the rule of law in a critical social-evolutionary context, and contemporary (especially German) politics.

Related Topics:
June 18 - 1929 - Düsseldorf - Germany - Philosopher - Social theorist - Critical theory - Neo-Marxist - Epistemology - Capitalist - Industrial society - Democracy - Rule of law - Social-evolutionary context - Politics

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Habermas has integrated into a comprehensive framework of social theory and philosophy the German philosophical thought of Kant, Schelling, Hegel, Dilthey, Husserl, and Gadamer, the Marxian tradition ? both the theory of Marx himself as well as the critical neo-Marxian theory of the Frankfurt School, i.e. Horkheimer, Adorno, and Marcuse ?, the sociological theories of Weber, Durkheim, and Mead, the linguistic philosophy and speech act theories of Wittgenstein, Austin, and Searle, the American pragmatist tradition of Peirce and Dewey, and the sociological systems theory of Parsons. He is well known for his work on the concept of the public sphere.

Related Topics:
Kant - Schelling - Hegel - Dilthey - Husserl - Gadamer - Marx - Frankfurt School - Horkheimer - Adorno - Marcuse - Weber - Durkheim - Mead - Speech act - Wittgenstein - Austin - Searle - Peirce - Dewey - Parsons - Public sphere

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Habermas considers his own major achievement the development of the concept and theory of communicative reason or communicative rationality, which distinguishes itself from the rationalist tradition by locating rationality in structures of interpersonal linguistic communication rather than in the structure of either the cosmos or the knowing subject. The program that argues to this effect is called universal pragmatics. He carries forward the traditions of Kant and the Enlightenment and of democratic socialism through his emphasis on the potential for transforming the world and arriving at a more humane, just, and egalitarian society through the realization of the human potential for reason, in part through discourse ethics.

Related Topics:
Theory of communicative reason - Communicative rationality - Rationalist tradition - Rationality - Communication - Universal pragmatics - The Enlightenment - Democratic socialism - Discourse ethics

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Habermas burst onto the German intellectual scene in the 1950s with an influential critique of the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. He studied philosophy and sociology under the critical theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno at the Institute for Social Research at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, but because of a rift over him between the two, he took his Habilitation in political science at the University of Marburg under Wolfgang Abendroth. Very unusual in the German academic scene at that time, he was called to an extraordinary professorship of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg (at the instigation of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Karl Löwith), which he held until moving back to Frankfurt to a full Chair.

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German - 1950s - Philosophy - Martin Heidegger - Sociology - Max Horkheimer - Theodor Adorno - Institute for Social Research - Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main - Habilitation - Political science - University of Marburg - Wolfgang Abendroth - Extraordinary professorship - University of Heidelberg - Hans-Georg Gadamer - Karl Löwith - Chair

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He accepted the position of Director of the Max Planck Institute in Starnberg (near Munich) in 1971, and worked there until 1983, two years after the publication of his magnum opus, The Theory of Communicative Action. Habermas then returned to his chair at Frankfurt and the directorship of the Institute for Social Research. Since retiring from Frankfurt in 1993, Habermas has continued to publish extensively.

Related Topics:
Max Planck Institute - Starnberg - Munich - Magnum opus - The Theory of Communicative Action

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