Habermas, Jürgen 1929–

(Juergen Habermas)

PERSONAL:

Born June 18, 1929, in Düsseldorf, Germany; son of Ernst and Grete Habermas; married Ute Wesselhoeft (a teacher), 1955; children: Tilmann, Rebekka, Judith. Education: Attended University of Göttingen and University of Zurich; University of Bonn, Ph.D., 1954; attended University of Marburg, 1961.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Starnberg, Germany.

CAREER:

Free-lance journalist, 1954-56; Institut für Sozialforschung, Frankfurt, West Germany (now Germany), research assistant, 1956-59; University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, West Germany, professor of philosophy, 1961-64; University of Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, professor of philosophy and sociology, 1964-71, honorary professor, 1975-82, adjunct professor, 1982-94, professor emeritus, 1994—. Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung der Lebensbedingungen der Wissenschaftlich-technischen Welt, director, 1971-80; Max-Planck-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, director, 1980-81. Princeton University, Christian Gauss Lecturer, 1971; Cornell University, Messenger Lecturer, 1984; Harvard University, Tanner Lecturer, 1986; University of California, Berkeley, Howison Lecturer, 1988; National University, Seoul, Korea, Seonam Lecturer, 1996; University of Marburg, Christian Wolff Lecturer, 2001; visiting professor at Northwestern University, beginning 1994, and New York University, beginning 1999; guest lecturer at other institutions, including New School for Social Research, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT, University of California, Santa Barbara, Haverford College, University of Pennsylvania, Collège de France, and Collège de Philosophie, Paris, France.

MEMBER:

Academia Europaea (distinguished member), German Academy for Language and Poetry (distinguished member), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (honorary member), British Academy of Science (foreign member), Serbian Academy of Science (foreign member), Russian Academy of Science (foreign member).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Hegel-Preis, City of Stuttgart, West Germany, 1973; Sigmund-Freud-Preis, German Academy for Language and Poetry,1976; honorary doctorate, New School for Social Research, 1980; Adorno-Preis, City of Frankfurt am Main, 1980; Geschwister-Scholl Prize, City of Munich, West Germany, 1985; Wilhelm-Leuschner Medal of Landes Hessen, 1985; Förderpreis für deutsche Wissenschaftler, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Programm der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft, 1986; Sonning Prize (Copenhagen, Denmark), 1987; honorary doctorates from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Buenos Aires, and University of Hamburg, 1989, University of Utrecht, 1990, Northwestern University, 1991, University of Athens, 1993, and University of Tel Aviv, 1995; Karl Jaspers Prize, University of Heidelberg, 1995; honorary doctorate from University of Bologna, 1996, Sorbonne, University of Paris, 1997, and Cambridge University, 1999; Hessischer Kulturpreis, 1999; Helmholtz Medal, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Science, 2000; honorary doctorate, Harvard University, 2001; Frankfurt Book Fair Peace Prize, 2001; Prinz von Asturien Preis für Socialwissenschaften, 2003; Kyoto Prize for Philosophy, 2004; Holberg-Preis, 2005; Bruno Kreisky Prize (Vienna, Germany), 2006.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION; IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit: Untersuchungen zu einer Kategorie der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft, Luchterhand (Neuwid am Rhein, Germany), 1962, new edition, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1990, translation by Thomas Burger and Frederick G. Lawrence published as The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1989.

Theorie und Praxis: Sozialphilosophische Studien, Luchterhand (Neuwid am Rhein, Germany), 1963, revised edition, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1971, translation by John Viertel published as Theory and Practice, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1973.

Zur Logik der Sozialwissenschaften, J.C.B. Mohr (Tübingen, Germany), 1967, enlarged edition, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1970 translation by Shierry Weber Nicholsen and Jerry A. Stark published as On the Logic of the Social Sciences, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1988.

Erkenntnis und Interesse, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1968, translation by Jeremy J. Shapiro published as Knowledge and Human Interests, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1971.

Toward a Rational Society: Student Protest, Science, and Politics (contains three essays from Protestbewegung und Hochschulreform [also see below] and three essays from Technik und Wissenschaft als "Ideologie" [also see below]), translated by Jeremy J. Shapiro, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1971.

Philosophisch-politische Profile, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1971, translation by Frederick G. Lawrence published as Philosophical-Political Profiles, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1983.

Legitimationsprobleme im Spätkapitalismus, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1973, translation by Thomas McCarthy published as Legitimation Crisis, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1975.

Communication and the Evolution of Society, introduced and translated by Thomas McCarthy, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1979.

(Editor) Stichworte zur geistigen Situation der Zeit, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1979, translation and introduction by Andrew Buchwalter published as Observations on "The Spiritual Situation of the Age": Contemporary German Perspectives, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1984.

Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1981, translation by Thomas McCarthy published as The Theory of Communicative Action, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1984.

Moralbewusstsein und kommunikatives Handeln, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1983, translation by Christian Lenhardt and Shierry Weber Nicholsen published as Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action, introduction by Thomas McCarthy, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1990.

Vorstudien und Erganzungen zur Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1984, translation by Barbara Fultner published as On the Pragmatics of Social Interaction: Preliminary Studies in the Theory of Communicative Action, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

Der Philosophische Diskurs der Moderne, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1985, translation by Frederick G. Lawrence published as The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity: Twelve Lectures, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1987.

Autonomy and Solidarity: Interviews, edited and introduced by Peter Dews, Verso (London, England), 1986.

Nachmetaphysisches Denken: Philosophische Aufsätze, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1988, translation by William Mark Hohengarten published as Post-metaphysical Thinking: Philosophical Essays, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1992.

The New Conservatism: Cultural Criticism and the Historians' Debate, edited and translated by Shierry Weber Nicholsen, introduction by Richard Wolin, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1989.

Jürgen Habermas on Society and Politics: A Reader, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1989.

Vergangenheit als Zukunft (interview by Michael Haller), Pendo, 1991, translation and edition by Max Pensky published as The Past as Future: Vergangenheit als Zukunft, foreword by Peter Hohendahl, University of Nebraska Press (Lincoln, NE), 1994.

Faktizität und Geltung, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1992, translation by William Rehg published as Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1996.

Justification and Application: Remarks on Discourse Ethics, translated by Ciaran Cronin, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1993.

Die Normalität einer Berliner Republik: Kleine Politische Schriften VIII, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1995, translation by Steven Rendall published as A Berlin Republic: Writings on Germany, introduction by Peter Uwe Hohendahl, University of Nebraska Press (Lincoln, NE), 1997.

Die Einbeziehung des Anderen, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1996, translation edited by Ciaran Cronin and Pablo De Greiff published as The Inclusion of the Other: Studies in Political Theory, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1998.

Von sinnlichen Eindruck zum symbolischen Ausdruck, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1997, translation by Peter Dews published as The Liberating Power of Symbols: Philosophical Essays, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

On the Pragmatics of Communication, edited by Maeve Cooke, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1998.

Die postnationale Konstellation: Politische Essays, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1998, translation by Max Pensky published as The Postnational Constellation: Political Essays, also edited and introduced by Pensky, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

Warheit und Rechtfertigung: Philosophische Aufsätze, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1999, translation and edition by Barbara Fultner published as Truth and Justification, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

Die Zukunft der menschlichen Natur, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 2001, translation published as The Future of Human Nature, Polity Press (Cambridge, England), 2003.

Religion and Rationality: Essays on Reason, God, and Modernity, edited and introduced by Eduardo Mendieta, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Giovanna Borradori, interviewer, Philosophy in a Time of Terror: Dialogues with Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL), 2003.

Der gespaltene Westen: Kleine Politische Schriften X, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 2004, translation and edition by Ciaran Cronin published as The Divided West, Polity Press (Cambridge, England), 2006.

IN GERMAN

Das Absolut und die Geschichte: Von der Zwiespaltigkeit in Schellings Denken, University of Bonn (Bonn, West Germany), 1954.

Student und Politik: Eine soziologische Untersuchung zum politischen Bewusstsein Frankfurter Studenten, edited by Frank Benseler, Luchterhand (Neuwid am Rhein, Germany), 1961.

Technik und Wissenschaft als "Ideologie," Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1968.

(Editor) Antworten auf Herbert Marcuse, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1968.

(Editor) Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Erkenntnistheoretische Schriften, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1968.

Protestbewegung und Hochschulreform, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1969.

Arbeit, Erkenntnis, Fortschritt, Munter (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1970.

(With Niklas Lumann) Theorie der Gessellschaft oder Sozialtechnologie, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1971.

(Editor) Kultur and Kritik: Verstreute Aufsätze, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1973.

Zwei Reden, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1974.

Zur Rekonstruktion des historischen Materialismus, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1976.

(Editor, with Rainer Doebert and Gertrud Nunner-Winkler) Entwicklung des Ichs, Kiepenheur & Witsch (Cologne, Germany), 1977.

Politik, Kunst, Religion: Essays über zeitgenöss, Redam (Stuttgart, Germany), 1978.

Kleine Politische Schriften I-IV, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1981.

Die Neue Unübersichtlichkeit: Kleine Politische Schriften V, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1985.

Eine Schadensabwicklung: Kleine Politische Schriften VI, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1988.

Die Hachholende Revolution: Kleine Politische Schriften VII, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1990.

Texte und Kontexte: Philosophische Aufsätze, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 1991.

Erläuterungen zur Diskursethik, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany) 1991.

Zeit der Übergänge: Kleine Politische Schriften IX, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 2001.

Kommunikatives Handeln und detranszendentalisierte Vernunft, Reclam (Stuttgart, Germany), 2001.

Zeitdiagnosen: Zwölf Essays, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 2003.

Zwischen Naturalismus und Religion: Philosophische Aufsätze, Suhrkamp (Frankfurt, Germany), 2005.

Also contributor to books.

SIDELIGHTS:

One of Germany's best-known contemporary social theorists, Jürgen Habermas "owes his great eminence to his efforts to reestablish German philosophy's lost connection to social practice and to put it on a durable … basis," wrote Michael Rosen in the Times Literary Supplement. And, said Philip G. Altbach in Christian Century, "his writings have had a major impact on German liberal and radical thought and on the development of the student movement [of the 1960s] as well."

An advocate of Immanuel Kant's thesis that knowledge cannot be explicated with total objectivity because of the subjective conditions under which it is studied, Habermas rejects the positivist theory that all learning can be objectively verified by the empirical sciences; he asserts, reported Donald Capps in Christian Century, "that a radical critique of knowledge is possible only as social theory." "During the early stages of the student movement," observed Bertram Schefold in Cambridge Review, "his arguments against positivism provided an ideological weapon in the struggle for a democratic university reform."

According to Altbach, Habermas is concerned that higher education has become the servant of industrial capitalism and no longer contributes effectively to the growth of science. "Habermas feels," wrote Altbach, "that the only way to deal with this situation is to democratize the university so that its own participants—notably the students and junior faculty—can bring pressure to bear against this technological role and can press for the involvement of the universities in criticism of the society."

Theorie und Praxis: Sozialphilosophische Studien, Habermas's first major work, explains how theory is related to action and how the subject was approached in the past. Erkenntnis und Interesse, which Capps described as "an illumination … of the philosophical poverty of contemporary scientific theory," serves as an introduction to Habermas's subsequent collection Toward a Rational Society: Student Protest, Science, and Politics, an account of the author's ideas about social change. Several critics praised the book's usefulness in helping readers to understand the role of higher education in society. Altbach similarly noted that the book "is a stimulating and important work," but pointed out that Habermas's "use of sociological and philosophical jargon sometimes makes this volume almost incomprehensible." Nevertheless, summarized James J. Conlin in Best Sellers, "it is a work to reread with profit for, although it lacks over-all unity and misses its aim of a sketch of society, this small book contains thought-provoking ideas about society and man's condition in it."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Douramanis, Demetrios, Mapping Habermas: From German to English, 1952-1955; A Bibliography of Primary Literature, Edition Eurotext, 1995.

Ealy, Steven D., Communication, Speech, and Politics: Habermas and Political Analysis, University Press of America (Washington, DC), 1981.

Habermas, Jürgen, Autonomy and Solidarity: Interviews, edited and introduced by Peter Dews, Verso (London, England), 1986.

Habermas, Jürgen, Justification and Application: Remarks on Discourse Ethics, translated by Ciaran Cronin, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1993.

Held, David, Introduction to Critical Theory: Horkheimer to Habermas, Hutchinson (London, England), 1980.

Horster, Detlef, Habermas: An Introduction with contributions by Willem van Reijen, translated from German by Heidi Thompson, Pennbridge Books (Philadelphia, PA), 1992.

Keat, Russell, The Politics of Social Theory: Habermas, Freud, and the Critique of Positivism, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL), 1981.

Kelly, Michael, editor, Critique and Power: Recasting the Foucault/Habermas Debate, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1994.

Kortian, Garbis, Metacritique: The Philosophical Argument of Jürgen Habermas, translated by John Raffan, with an introductory essay by Charles Taylor and Alan Montefiore, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1980.

McCarthy, Thomas A., The Critical Theory of Jürgen Habermas, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA, 1978.

Nordquist, Joan, compiler, Jürgen Habermas: A Bibliography, Reference and Research Services (Santa Cruz, CA), 1986.

Rasmussen, D.M., Reading Habermas, Basil Blackwell (Oxford, England), 1990.

Sensat, Julius, Jr., Habermas and Marxism: An Appraisal, Sage Publications (Beverly Hills, CA), 1979.

Thinkers of the Twentieth Century, 2nd edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1987.

Thompson, John B., and David Held, editors, Habermas, Critical Debates, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1982.

White, Stephen K., The Recent Work of Jürgen Habermas: Reason, Justice, and Modernity, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1988.

PERIODICALS

Best Sellers, November 15, 1970, James F. Conlin, review of Toward a Rational Society: Student Protest, Science, and Politics.

Cambridge Review, May 7, 1971.

Choice, July, 1972; June, 1974; September, 1979; June, 1984; February, 1988.

Christian Century, November 25, 1970; September 29, 1971.

Times Literary Supplement, June 5, 1969; February 26, 1971; December 17, 1971; February 11, 1972; October 4, 1974; November 28, 1980; May 18, 1984; October 5, 1984; February 13, 1987.