Jürgen Habermas
2024
Habermas is honored for having “constantly reminded us, theoretically and empirically, that the very lifeblood of democracy depends on human capacity and willingness to respect others by means of communicative action and on that basis to engage in critical argumentation and discourse.”
Jürgen Habermas has set his stamp on political science, the social sciences and the humanities in general as few other intellectuals have throughout the long post-war era. Habermas has been shaped by a European tradition of thought dominated by a holistic view on knowledge about human beings and the human condition, rather than disciplinary boundaries. Faithful to that tradition, Habermas has therefore made critical contributions to both the understanding of the emergence of a European, educated public sphere and the question of what ultimately makes democracy possible and the contemporary lines of development within Europe, politically and economically. Although he is commonly described as a social theorist and philosopher, Jürgen Habermas has had monumental impact on political science.
Illustration by Anna Ileby