Philosophical Introductions: Five Approaches to Communicative Reason

by Jürgen Habermas

On the occasion of Habermas's 80th birthday, the German publisher Suhrkamp brought out five volumes of Habermas's work that spanned the full range his philosophical work, from the theory of rationality to the critique of metaphysics. For each of these volumes, Habermas wrote an introduction that crystallized, in a remarkably clear and succinct way, his thinking on the key philosophical issues that have preoccupied him throughout his long career. This new book by Polity brings together these five introductions and publishes them together for the first time. The result is a unique and comprehensive overview of Habermas's philosophy in his own words.

In the five chapters that make up this volume, Habermas discusses the concept of communicative action and the grounding of the social sciences in the theory of language; the relationship between rationality and the theory of language; discourse ethics; political theory and problems of democracy and legitimacy; the critique of reason and the challenge posed by religion in a secular age. The volume includes a substantial introduction by Jean-Marc Durand-Gasselin which provides the reader with all the necessary background to understand Habermas's distinctive and original contribution to philosophy.

Philosophical Introductions will be an indispensable text for students and scholars in philosophy and in the humanities and social sciences generally, and for anyone interested in the most important developments in philosophy and critical theory today.

Genres: Philosophy

232 pages, Paperback

Published June 22, 2018

About the author

Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and American pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his work on the concept of the public sphere, the topic of his first book entitled The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. His work focuses on the foundations of social theory and epistemology, the analysis of advanced capitalistic societies and democracy, the rule of law in a critical social-evolutionary context, and contemporary politics—particularly German politics. Habermas's theoretical system is devoted to revealing the possibility of reason, emancipation, and rational-critical communication latent in modern institutions and in the human capacity to deliberate and pursue rational interests.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to Habermas' work by Habermas. In it, he introduces five works on his theory of communicative reason from the standpoint of reason and meaning, ethics, politics, religion and the history of critique. Habermas provides context for both his biographical and philosophical development as he explains the different aspects of his theory in light of discourse, sociology and the lifeworld. Everything presented in the book, including the introduction to the introductions provides an excellent foundation for entering into Habermas' philosophical project.