The Philosophy of Habermas (Volume 5) (Continental European Philosophy)

This comprehensive introduction to the thought of Jurgen Habermas covers the full range of his ideas from his early work on student politics to his recent work on communicative action, ethics and law. Andrew Edgar examines Habermas' key texts in chronological order, revealing the developments, shifts and turns in Habermas' thinking as he refines his basic insights and incorporates new sources and ideas. Some of the themes discussed include Habermas' early reshaping of Marxist theory and practice, his characterization of critical theory, his conception of universal pragmatics, his theories of communicative action and discourse ethics, and his defence of the project of modernity. Edgar offers much more than a schematic run through of Habermas' big ideas. He deals in detail with Habermas' arguments in order to demonstrate how he weaves together multiple strands of thought, and he usefully situates Habermas' ideas within the contexts of the history of German philosophy, the history of sociology, and within contemporary debates in both continental and analytic philosophy. By engaging with some of Habermas' key critics and contrasting his views with the ideas of contemporaries, Edgar is able to give a clear sense of Habermas' place and importance in contemporary philosophy and social theory. In The Philosophy of Habermas Andrew Edgar covers the full range of Habermas's ideas from his early work on student politics, the public sphere, and the development of Marxist theory to his current work on communicative action, ethics, and law. Edgar examines Habermas's key texts in chronological order and charts and assesses the continuities and discontinuities in his thought, both in terms of subject matter and methodology. He also identifies Habermas's unfulfilled potential, or unresolved challenges remaining from earlier projects, highlighting those points in Habermas's career where clear choices of direction have been made and their implications evaluated. Each chapter focuses on one or more key texts and can therefore be read as a self-standing essay on that key reading and the point that it represents in Habermas's development. However, material in each chapter also serves to identify the links between Habermas's texts and to give shape to Habermas's broader project. Some of the themes that are examined are Habermas's early reshaping of Marxist theory and practice, his characterization of critical theory, his conception of universal pragmatics, his theories of communicative action and discourse ethics, his accounts of the rationalization and colonisation of the lifeworld and his defence of the project of modernity. Edgar engages with Habermas's critics throughout and contrasts his views with the ideas of contemporaries such as Adorno, Gadamer, Foucault, Rawls, Luhmann and Rorty to give a clear sense of Habermas's place and importance in contemporary philosophy and social theory. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Contents 6 Preface 8 Acknowledgements 11 Abbreviations 12 1 The Marxist heritage 14 2 The public sphere 40 3 The idea of critical theory 69 4 Legitimation crisis 115 5 The theory of communicative action 151 6 Modernity 201 7 Law and democracy 256 Notes 286 Bibliography 290 Index 300 A 300 B 300 C 300 D 301 E 301 F 301 G 301 H 301 I 302 J 302 K 302 L 302 M 303 N 303 O 303 P 303 R 304 S 304 T 304 U 305 V 305 W 305 Y 305

Edgar's (philosophy, Cardiff U.) objective is to prepare readers to take on the works of German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, which he admits are complex and on first reading obscure. He sketches his arguments in some detail, explains how he weaves together multiple strands of thought, and places the work within the context of the history of German philosophy and contemporary debates in continental and analytical philosophy. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Biography

Andrew Edgar is lecturer in philosophy at Cardiff University.

From his early work on student politics, the public sphere, and the development of Marxist theory to his current work on communicative action, ethics, and law, Jurgen Habermas has continuously engaged critics of contemporary philosophy and social theory. In The Philosophy of Habermas Andrew Edgar examines Habermas's key texts, assesses the continuities and discontinuities in his thought, in terms of both subject matter and methodology, and identifies unresolved challenges remaining from Habermas's earlier projects Edgar further analyses Habermas's early reshaping of Marxist theory and practice, characterization of critical theory, conception of universal pragmatics, theories of communicative action and discourse ethics, accounts of the rationalization and colonisation of the lifeworld, and defence of the project of modernity. He engages with Habermas's critics throughout, contrasting Habermas's theories with the ideas of contemporaries such as Adorno, Gadamer, Foucault, Rawls, Luhmann, and Rorty