Habermas: A Guide for the Perplexed

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Jurgen 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 - building up a complete overview of his work, and offering close and incisive analysis throughout. All Habermas'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.

Reviews

"In this introduction to Jurgen Habermas, Thomassen attempts to make the work of this German political philosopher more accessible to readers encountering it for the first time. The book covers all of Habermas' major topics, including his writings on the public sphere, his theories of communicative action, validity, and deliberative democracy, and his most recent work on supra-national democratic institutions and the role of religion in contemporary societies. Thomassen places Habermas' writings into their political and philosophical contexts, and contrasts his work with that of other thinkers, especially the members of the Frankfurt School." -Eithne O'Leyne, BOOK NEWS, Inc.
Lasse Thomassen's book may not be for absolute beginners or seasoned specialists, but it certainly provides an excellent and reliable bridge between the two.' -- Studies in Social and Political Thought

Author Bio

Lasse Thomassen is Senior Lecturer in Political Theory in the Department of Politics at Queen Mary, University of London, and Garca-Pelayo Fellow at the Centro de Estudios Polticos y Constitucionales, Madrid, Spain. He is the author of Deconstructing Habermas (Routledge, 2007) and editor of The Derrida-Habermas Reader (Edinburgh UP, 2006) and Radical Democracy (Manchester UP, 2005).