The Theory of Communicative Action

Here,forthefirsttimeinEnglish,isvolumeoneofJurgenHabermas'slong-awaitedmagnumopus:TheTheoryofCommunicativeAction.Thispathbreakingworkisguidedbythreeinterrelatedconcerns:(1)todevelopaconceptofcommunicativerationalitythatisnolongertiedtothesubjectiveandindividualisticpremisesofmodernsocialandpoliticaltheory;(2)toconstructatwo-levelconceptofsocietythatintegratesthe'lifeworld'and'system'paradigms;and(3)tosketchoutacriticaltheoryofmodernitythatexplainsitssociopathologiesinanewway.Habermasapproachesthesetasksthroughacombinationofconceptualanalyses,systematicreflections,andcriticalreconstructionsofsuchpredecessorsasMarxandWeber,DurkheimandMead,HorkheimerandAdorno,SchutzandParsons.ReasonandtheRationalizationofSocietydevelopsasociologicaltheoryofactionthatstressesnotitsmeans-endsorteleologicalaspect,buttheneedtocoordinateactionsociallyviacommunication.IntheintroductorychapterHabermassetsoutapowerfulseriesofargumentsonsuchfoundationalissuesasculturalandhistoricalrelativism,themethodologyofVerstehen,theinseparabiltyofinterpretationfromcritique.Inadditiontoclarifyingthenormativefoundationsofcriticalsocialinquiry,thissetsthestageforasystematicappropriationofWeber'stheoryofrationalizationanditsMarxistreceptionbyLukacs,HorkheimerandAdorno.Thisisanimportantbookfordegreestudentsofphilosophy,sociologyandrelatedsubjects.