Habermas: a guide for the perplexed (guides for the perplexed)

A Comprehensive and bang up-to-date guide – ideal for undergraduates – to the work of J&uumlet;rgen Habermas, one of the most important living philosophers, that provides a clear, accessible and authoritative account of his wide-ranging and ambitious philosophical project.

Sales Points

The first new introductory guide to Habermas for over 10 years – Habermas is alive and still productive, so this book is up to date and easily the most comprehensive / authoritative text available.

Written in clear, accessible language, highly appropriate for the ‘perplexed’ undergraduate.

Author has direct access to Habermas himself, and draws upon interviews and the philosopher’s recent autobiographical writings.

Description

J&uumlet;rgen Habermas is one of the most important contemporary philosophers and theorists of society. The author of over forty works, including the seminal Theory of Communicative Action, his work has ranged across critical theory, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, the philosophy of science, citizenship and democracy, religion and psychoanalysis, forging new paradigms and engaging with other key thinkers. All students and teachers of contemporary Continental thought need to understand Habermas’s major contributions to philosophy and critical theory. Habermas: A Guide for the Perplexed is the ideal starting point for anyone studying Habermas, and an invaluable companion text to any course of study that includes his work.

It follows Habermas’s critical and philosophical project through all four stages of its development – the philosophical anthropological; the historical materialist; the linguistic turn; deliberative democracy and the rule of law – buildingup a complete overview of his work, and offering close and incisive analysis throughout. All Haberma’s major publications, including The Theory of Communicative Action, are covered in detail. The book concludes with an assessment of Habermas’s contribution to philosophy and critical theory.