Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Jurgen Habermas is the most renowned living German philosopher. This book aims to give a clear and readable overview of his philosophical work. It analyzes both the theoretical underpinnings of Habermas's social theory, and its more concrete applications in the fields of ethics, politics, and law. Finally, it examines how Habermas's social and political theory informs his writing on real, current political and social problems. The author explores Habermas's influence on a wide variety of fields--including philosophy, political and social theory, cultural studies, sociology, and literary studies. He uses a problem-based approach to explain how Habermas's ideas can be applied to actual social and political situations. The book also includes a glossary of technical terms to further acquaint the reader with Habermas's philosophy. Unlike other writing on Habermas, this Introduction is accessibly written and explains his intellectual framework and technical vocabulary, rather than simply adopting it.

It's nice of these Oxford University Press dudes to introduce me to a guy like (whatever his first name is) Habermas, because I've never heard of him.

Average Rating:

Rating: - Thanks!
It's nice of these Oxford University Press dudes to introduce me to a guy like (whatever his first name is) Habermas, because I've never heard of him.

Rating: - Best Introduction to Habermas
I have been reading Habermas and books about Habermas on and off since 2000. Habermas' writings are clearly difficult, and so do most introductions to Habermas. Most introductions to Habermas follow the chronology of Habermas' work, usually starting with the work on Public Sphere through to the tome on legal theory (Between Facts and Norms). Those introductions usually succeed in portraying Habermas as a dazzling thinker of enormous breadth, and does serve the purpose of encouraging their readers to pursue serious reading of Habermas' difficult works.

Not this Introduction - this one is much better. The format of Very Short Introductions does not allow the traditional approach, and the author does an outstanding job in putting Habermas' theory and its various pieces in context. As the other reviewer mentioned, the author describes Habermas' five "research programmes" which forms an integrated whole. In one sentence, Habermas uses the pragmatic theory of meaning to develop a theory of communicative actions which forms the basis of three aspects - ethical, social and political - of his "practical" (practical as in "Critique of Practical Reasons") theories which tries to describe both the realities and normative ideals for modern (Western) societies in the late 20th centures. After summarizing the research programmes which put Habermas' huge corpus in context, the author proceeds to describe each of the programme in its highlights - in this the author successfully condenses Habermas' work into simple themes and conceptual distinctions. Given the short length of the exposition, I was very positively surprised by the author's ability to include at the end of most chapters summaries of critical views regarding Habermas' theories (e.g. the Habermas vs. Rawls debate) - and the author clearly holds a sympathetic yet objective stand in describing both sides of the arguments.

So in summary, this book is superior to most other Introductions in that:
1. The language is simpler and clearer - not burdened by Habermas' difficult writings
2. Covers Habermas' programmes in logical rather than strict chronological order - which puts different aspects of Habermas' works in context (also coverage is up to Truth and Justification, which is nearly one decade beyond the time of Between Facts and Norms)
3. Describes Habermas' breadth but also identifies the unifying concerns of Habermas as a "practical theorist"
4. Presents both the structure and key critiques to Habermas' theories - thereby allowing readers to prioritize which of Habermas' works to read after this Introduction. (Realistically, who would have time to read everything Habermas wrote?)

Bravo to the author and Oxford in publishing this good work!

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Rating: - Excellent - and tantalizing
Curious about Habermas, I picked up this book and am well satisfied, given that the book does not purport to be more than an introduction, really just an orientation. Finlayson writes well (much more clearly than Habermas!) and seems very knowledgeable about his subject. Of course, in 156 pages he can't get very far into Habermas's philosophy. What he does present is interesting. For example, the standard picture of society in Anglo-American economics and political philosophy is "an aggregate of lone individual reasoners, each calculating the best way of pursuing their own ends." Habermas contests this view and the related view that "human beings are essentially self-interested ..." Habermas claims that "such approaches neglect the crucial role of communication and discourse in forming social bonds between agents, and consequently have an inadequate conception of human association." He apparently works out this approach in great depth, starting from fundamental principles. And this "programme," which seeks to supplant the whole worldview we inherit from Hobbes, Locke and Adam Smith, is only one of Habermas's five "research programmes."

Related Items:

Foucault: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Poststructuralism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Kant: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

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