Volume 29, Number 15 · October 7, 1982
Habermas's Reformation
By Quentin Skinner
WORKS DISCUSSED IN THIS ESSAY
The Idea of a Critical Theory: Habermas and the Frankfurt School
by Raymond Geuss
Cambridge University Press, 100 pp., $19.95; $6.95 (paper)
Knowledge and Human Interests
by Jürgen Habermas, translated by Jeremy Shapiro
Beacon, 356 pp., $5.95 (paper)
Toward a Rational Society: Student Protest, Science, and Politics
by Jürgen Habermas, translated by Jeremy Shapiro
Beacon, 132 pp., $3.95 (paper)
Theory and Practice
by Jürgen Habermas, translated by John Viertel
Beacon, 310 pp., $4.95 (paper)
Legitimation Crisis
by Jürgen Habermas, translated by Thomas McCarthy
Beacon, 166 pp., $6.25 (paper)
Communication and the Evolution of Society
by Jürgen Habermas, translated by Thomas McCarthy
Beacon, 239 pp., $6.95 (paper)
Theorie der Gesellschaft oder Sozialtechnologie
by Jürgen Habermas, by Niklas Luhmann
Suhrkamp, Frankfurt, 404 pp., $13.00 (paper)
The Critical Theory of Jürgen Habermas
by Thomas McCarthy
MIT Press, 484 pp., $25.00; $12.50 (paper)
Habermas: Critical Debates
edited by John B. Thompson, edited by David Held
MIT Press, 324 pp., $30.00; $12.50 (paper)
Among the ever-increasing volume of studies devoted to the social philosophy of Jürgen Habermas and other members of the Frankfurt school, Professor Raymond Geuss's recent book, The Idea of A Critical Theory, stands out as a contribution of exceptional originality and interest. It is searching in its criticisms, but never loses its basic sympathy. It is formidably dense in texture, but unfailingly lucid in its presentation of Habermas's often obscure arguments. It is remarkably concise, but is clearly based on a comprehensive study of all the relevant literature. As such it offers an excellent starting point for a reconsideration of Habermas's 'critical theory' as a whole. What sort of a theory is Habermas seeking to construct, and what should we think of it?
Review, 4799 words
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