The Recent Work of Jurgen Habermas: Reason, Justice and Modernity

Description

JUrgen Habermas is one of the foremost philosophers and social theorists in the world today, but the complexity and breadth of his thought make him often difficult to understand. This book offers a clear, accessible, and reliable introduction to Habermas' work, particularly that which he has written in the 1970s and 1980s when new themes and directions have emerged in his thought. The author explains the ideas that characterize Habermas' later work, locating them in the context of contemporary debates, and demonstrates how they constitute the beginnings of a coherent and distinctive new research program.

'White presents a clear and accurate account of Habermas' recent work, most importantly The Theory of Communicative Action. Centering on the notion of communicative rationality, he traces Habermas' elaborate effort to develop a non-foundationalist universalism through all its twists and turns. His discussion of the 'minimal ethics' built into the structure of communication and of the implications of this for a theory of justice is particularly perceptive. His study will be of value to everyone interested in Habermas, beginner and initiate alike.' Professor Thomas McCarthy, Northwestern University