Jürgen Habermas: biography, ideas, main works

protection click fraud

Jürgen Habermas it is a german philosopher and sociologist linked to critical theory, a current of thought developed by the Frankfurt School, and to contemporary pragmatism. Habermas worked as a teaching assistant to Professor Theodor Adorno at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt, which placed him as a representative of the call. Frankfurt School's “second generation”. Habermas' studies focus on communicative action as a way of understanding ethics and politics.

Read more: Cultural industry – concept developed in the first generation of the Frankfurt School

Biography of Jürgen Habermas

Habermas was born in the city of Düsseldorf, Germany, on June 18, 1929. In 1954, at the age of 25, he received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Bonn, defending a thesis entitled the absolute in history, about the German philosopher Friedrich Schelling.

At 27 years old, he became Theodor Adorno's teaching assistant, one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century and one of the founders of the Frankfurt School. At the Social Research Institute of

instagram story viewer

Frankfurt School, Habermas intellectually joined critical theory, a theoretical line developed by Frankfurt thinkers.

Habermas is one of the leading contemporary thinkers. [1]

His work at the University of Frankfurt lasted until 1960. Earlier in this decade, Habermas conducted research on student political engagement. The philosopher performed several empirical research on political issues at that time, which brought him closer to new interpretations of the Marxism of the 20th century.

It's also considered a pragmatist philosopher for their theories about language and the need for practical application and acceptance of a theory. In 1962, he published his first book, Structural change in the public sphere, and, in 1963, comes his second publication, Theory and practice.

In 1968, Habermas goes to New York to teach at New School for Social Research, a traditional New York institution that had distinguished personalities in its teaching staff, such as the German Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt, the English economist John Maynard Keynes and the Belgian anthropologist Claude-Lévi Strauss.

In 1971, he transferred to the Max Planck Institute, in Germany, the institution where he was director. In 1983, he started teaching at Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University, in Frankfurt. He retired from this institution in 1994. Despite his retirement, the intellectual has not stopped researching, writing and lecturing. Over 90 years of age, he still active.

Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)

Ideas by Jürgen Habermas

The vast work of the German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas left an extensive legacy of ideas and theories for the understanding of politics, gives ethic and communication. Below, we list the main concepts, theories and intellectual contributions of the theorist:

Communicative Action Theory

It is supported by two different perspectives, the historical materialism Marx's dialectic and the functionalism of Max Weber, in addition to the philosophy of language and critical theory of the Frankfurt School. The communicative action is a complex theory of interpretation of the world and socialization. Socialization is complex as it is a result of individual processes that come together.

Thus, a process of grounding ethics begins, which results from individual actions and the conviction of people based on communication. Communication is the most fundamental human process in Habermas' perspective, as it is what allows interaction and the establishment of ethical and socialization processes. Communicative action is a free and rational communication process, extremely important for the consolidation of democracy.

communicative reason

It is the reason, or rationality, behind communicative action. It appears as a proposal for the emancipation of the human being (Frankfurt School influence) as opposed to instrumental reason, described by Adorno and Horkheimer (Frankfurt School philosophers) as logic capitalist brutal that only uses rationality as a means to something and does not reflect on itself. This instrumental reason was the kind of rational process that triggered the burnt offering It is also described as a kind of logic of barbarism by the Frankfurtian philosophers.

public sphere

The public sphere goes far beyond the state public sphere. For Habermas, it consists of any space for interaction and discussion.

Habermas is one of the most important and productive philosophers still alive. [2]

Society

Habermas's concept of society is a complex theory that unites systems theory (a pragmatic theory that defends the creation of multiple theories with practical applicability) converging with communicative action. As already mentioned, communication is the first and most important element of society, as it allows for sociability and rationalization.

See too: Karl Marx – sociologist very present in Habermas' work

Works by Jürgen Habermas

Habermas wrote and published more than 50 books, as well as academic and journalistic articles. This places him as one of the leading theorists of the 20th and 21st century, in addition to being one of the oldest and most important philosophers still in activity. All his main work is based on communicative reason and communicative action. Below, we list some of his main books:

Communicative Action Theory: in this book, Habermas sets out in detail his main concept, that of communicative action.
Moral conscience and communicative action: in this book, the thinker pragmatically relates morality and moral action to communicative reason as a means of pragmatic intervention.
Inclusion of the other: in this book, the philosopher speaks of the importance of inclusion and the recognition of plurality for the formation of democratic republican societies.
The divided West: written and published after terrorist events such as September 11 and the Iraq War, in it Habermas weaves a harsh criticism of the “war on terror” policy implemented by the US government. For the philosopher, what divides the West is not terrorism, but the US policy disrespectful of the norms of international law.
Dialectics of Secularization - About Reason and Religion: this is not an intense book about Habermas' theories, but its importance lies in its wide scope and the proposal to dialogue with a religious intellectual on a very important topic, faith and reason. The book was written in partnership with Pope Benedict XVI.