Habermas and modernity
Document Type
Book
Role
Author
Publisher
MIT Press
Publication Date
1988
Abstract
Jurgen Habermas is one of the leading and one of the most challenging social theorists of our time. During the past several decades he has been developing a systematic critical analysis of modernity - its historical origins, pathologies and future prospects. He is a thinker who has been uncannily attuned to the basic moods and vital concerns of contemporary culture. He stubbornly resists those who claim that Western rationality is exhausted, that the Enlightenment legacy is dead and that the project of modernity is a failure. He has elaborated a comprehensive theory of rationality and the rationalisation processes of modernisation - one which highlights the intersubjective character of communicative action. His ambitious and carefully argues intellectual project invites - indeed commands - rigorous critical scrutiny.This collection of critical essays draws together leading thinkers from a variety of fields in order to assess some of Habermas's major theses concerning the philosophical, cultural and social conditions of modernity. In his substantial reply to these critics Habermas clarifies and defends his view, specifying a range of new problems which demand further analysis.
Suggested Citation
Bernstein, Richard J., ed. 1985. Habermas and Modernity. MIT Press.
