Communicative Action: Essays on Jürgen Habermas's The Theory of Communicative Action (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought)

These critical essays on Jürgen Habermas's major contribution to sociological theory, The Theory of Communicative Action, provide an indispensable guide for anyone trying to grasp that large, difficult, and important work. The editors' introduction traces the history of the reception of the work and identifies the main themes on which discussion has focused: a concept of communicative rationality; a theory of action based on distinguishing communicative from instrumental reason; a two- level concept of society that integrates lifeworld and system paradigms; and a critical theory of modernity meant to diagnose the sociopathologies of contemporary society. Axel Honneth is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Berlin. Hans Joas is Professor of Sociology at the Free University, Berlin. Contributors: Jeffrey Alexander. Johann P. Arnason. Johannes Berger. Günter Dux. Jürgen Habermas. Hans Joas. Hans-Peter Krüger. Thomas McCarthy. Herbert Schnädelbach. Martin Seel. Charles Taylor. The Transformation Of Critical Theory / Herbert Schnädelbach -- Language And Society / Charles Taylor -- The Two Meanings Of 'communicative' Rationality : Remarks On Habermas's Critique Of A Plural Concept Of Reason / Martin Seel -- Habermas And Critical Theory : Beyond The Marxian Dilemma? / Jeffrey Alexander -- Communicative Reason And Interest : On The Reconstruction Of The Normative Order In Societies Structured By Egalitarianism Or Domination / Günter Dux -- The Unhappy Marriage Of Hermeneutics And Functionalism / Hans Joas -- Complexity And Democracy : Or The Seducements Of Systems Theory / Thomas Mccarthy -- Communicative Action Or The Mode Of Communication For Society As A Whole / Hans-peter Krüger. The Linguistification Of The Sacred And The Delinguistification Of The Economy / Johannes Berger -- Modernity As Project And As Field Of Tensions / Johann P. Arnason -- A Reply / Jürgen Habermas. Edited By Axel Honneth And Hans Joas ; Translated By Jeremy Gaines And Doris L. Jones. Translation Of: Kommunikatives Handeln. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [266]-294) And Index. These critical essays on Jurgen Habermas's major contribution to sociological theory, The Theory of Communicative Action, provide an indispensable guide for anyone trying to grasp that large, difficult, and important work. The editors' introduction traces the history of the reception of the work and identifies the main themes on which discussion has a concept of communicative rationality; a theory of action based on distinguishing communicative from instrumental reason; a two-level concept of society that integrates lifeworld and system paradigms; and a critical theory of modernity meant to diagnose the sociopathologies of contemporary society. Jeffrey Alexander. Johann P. Arnason. Johannes Berger. Gunter Dux. Jurgen Habermas. Hans Joas. Hans-Peter Kruger. Thomas McCarthy. Herbert Schnadelbach. Martin Seel. Charles Taylor. In 1981, Jurgen Habermas published his 'Theory of Communicative Action' as a two-volume book (English language edn, Boston, 1984 and 1987).