Jürgen Habermas

Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
	Habermas in 2014
Born	Jürgen Habermas; 18 June 1929; Düsseldorf, Rhine Province, Free State of Prussia, Weimar Germany
Spouse	Ute Wesselhöft (m. 1955) (died 2025)
Children	Tilmann (b. 1956); Rebekka (1959–2023); Judith (b. 1967);
Education
Education	University of Göttingen (1949/50); University of Zurich (1950/51); University of Bonn (Ph.D., 1954); University of Marburg (Dr. phil. hab., 1961)
Doctoral advisor	Wolfgang Abendroth (Dr. phil. hab. advisor)
Other advisors	Theodor W. Adorno; Max Horkheimer;
Philosophical work
Era	Contemporary philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Continental philosophy; Frankfurt School; Neopragmatism;
Institutions	University of Marburg; University of Heidelberg; University of Frankfurt am Main; Max Planck Society; Northwestern University;
Main interests	Epistemology; Critical social theory; Political theory; Philosophy of law; Rationalization; Pragmatics; Pragmatism;
Notable ideas	Communicative action; Communicative rationality; Constitutional patriotism; Discourse ethics; Ideal speech situation; Performative contradiction; System–lifeworld distinction; Structural transformation of the public sphere; Universal pragmatics;
Signature

Jürgen Habermas (UK: /ˈhɑːbərmæs/ HAH-bər-mass, US: /-mɑːs/ -⁠mahss;^[2] German: [ˈjʏʁɡn̩ ˈhaːbɐmaːs] ^ⓘ;^[3]^[4] born 18 June 1929) is a German philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere.

Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas's work focused on the foundations of epistemology and social theory, the analysis of advanced capitalism and democracy, the rule of law in a critical social-evolutionary context, albeit within the confines of the natural law tradition,^[5] 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. Habermas is known for his work on the phenomenon of modernity,^[6] particularly with respect to the discussions of rationalization originally set forth by Max Weber. He has been influenced by American pragmatism, action theory, and poststructuralism.

^ "Pragmatism". iep.utm.edu. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
^ "Habermas". Collins English Dictionary.
^ Max Mangold and Dudenredaktion: Duden Aussprachewörterbuch. In: Der Duden in zwölf Bänden. Volume 6, 6th edition, Dudenverlag, Mannheim/Leipzig/Wien/Zürich 2005 ISBN 978-3-411-04066-7, "Jürgen" p. 446 and "Habermas" p. 383.
^ Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 561, 629. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.
^ Cf. Thomas Kupka, *Jürgen Habermas' diskurstheoretische Reformulierung des klassischen Vernunftrechts", Kritische Justiz 27 (1994), pp. 461–469. The continuity with the natural law tradition was controversial at the time, see the reply by Habermas's PhD student Klaus Günther, "Diskurstheorie des Rechts oder liberales Naturrecht in diskurstheoretischem Gewande?", Kritische Justiz 27 (1994), pp. 470–487.
^ Ferrara, Alessandro (2019). "Modernity and Modernization". The Cambridge Habermas Lexicon. Cambridge University Press. p. 269. doi:10.1017/9781316771303.070. ISBN 978-1-316-77130-3.

[1] "Pragmatism". iep.utm.edu. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

[2] "Habermas". Collins English Dictionary.

[3] Max Mangold and Dudenredaktion: Duden Aussprachewörterbuch. In: Der Duden in zwölf Bänden. Volume 6, 6th edition, Dudenverlag, Mannheim/Leipzig/Wien/Zürich 2005 ISBN 978-3-411-04066-7, "Jürgen" p. 446 and "Habermas" p. 383.

[4] Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 561, 629. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.

[5] Cf. Thomas Kupka, *Jürgen Habermas' diskurstheoretische Reformulierung des klassischen Vernunftrechts", Kritische Justiz 27 (1994), pp. 461–469. The continuity with the natural law tradition was controversial at the time, see the reply by Habermas's PhD student Klaus Günther, "Diskurstheorie des Rechts oder liberales Naturrecht in diskurstheoretischem Gewande?", Kritische Justiz 27 (1994), pp. 470–487.

[6] Ferrara, Alessandro (2019). "Modernity and Modernization". The Cambridge Habermas Lexicon. Cambridge University Press. p. 269. doi:10.1017/9781316771303.070. ISBN 978-1-316-77130-3.

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