Theory and Practice by Juergen Habermas (PDF)

Description

Theory and Practice is one of Habermas’s major works and is widely recognized as a classic in contemporary and social and political theory. Through a series of highly original historical studies, Habermas reexamines the relations between philosophy, science and politics. Beginning with the classical doctrine of politics as developed by Aristotle, he traces the changing constellation of theory and practice through the work of Machiavelli, More, Hobbes, Hegel and Marx. He argues that, with the development of the modern sciences, politics has become increasingly regarded as a technical discipline concerned with problems of prediction and control. Politics has thus lost its link with the practical cultivation of character, that is, with the praxis of enlightened citizens. Theory and Practices includes a major reassessment of Marx’s work and of the status of Marxism as a form of critique. In an important concluding chapter Habermas examines the role of reason and the prospects for critical theory in our modern scientific civilization.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “For almost twenty years now Juergen Habermas has been perhaps the most consistently (as distinct from fashionably) influential thinker in the philosophy of the social sciences and in the area or socially oriented philosophies” – Times Literary Supplement”It is not altogether easy to assess the work of a scholar whose professional competence extends from the logic of science to the sociology of knowledge, by way of Marx, Hegel, and the more recondite sourse of European metaphysical tradition … At an age when most of his colleagues have painfully established control over one corner of the field, he has made himself the master of the whole, in depth and breadth alike.” – George Lichtheim”Strongly recommended for students of philosophy and social thought.” – Kirkus Reviews About the Author Jürgen Habermas (born June 18, 1929) is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Jurgen Habermas is truly one of the great political thinkers of the 20th Century. In his book “Theory and Practice,” Habermas explores the human sciences and role that human interests have in their development. It is Habermas’ contention that the so-called “value-free” character of the human sciences (e.g. economics, sociology, psychiatry, etc.) represents a false assumption of neutrality and objectivity.In “Theory and Practice”, Habermas asserts that normative valuations are embedded within the theoretical assumptions of the human sciences. In Habermas’ words, “The interest in attaining control over society initially invested in the cognitive initiative of scientific theories interferes with the simultaneous interest in society `in-itself.’ Therefore, a prior understanding originating in interested experience always infiltrates the fundamental concepts of the theoretical system” (p. 210).Basically, Habermas asserts that knowledge and interest are inseparable. “[W]e are practically interested in society. For even if we place ourselves (fictitiously) outside the social interrelationships of life in order to confront them, we still remain part of them, even in the act of insight, as subject and object in one” (p. 210).From a philosophical perspective, Habermas rejects the Cartesian notion of a solipsistic ego comprehending itself apart from exterior phenomena. In his book, Habermas goes into a brief but succinct discussion of Hegel and his treatment of the subject/object dichotomy. Habermas praises Hegel’s recognition that the “I” does not represent “the reflection of the solitary `I’ on itself” (p. 152). Instead, the “I” understands itself “in terms of formative processes, namely the communicative agreement of opposing subjects; it is not the reflection as such which is decisive, but rather the medium in which the identity of the universal and the individual is formed” (p. 152).This “communicative agreement” is rooted in language, or “regimes” of linguistic discourse. Language not only provides a basis for intersubjective communication, but also expresses the common norms and interests of a culture. In the interest of self-preservation, language implicitly expresses the cultural norms and standards valued by a society. Individuals not only evaluate themselves according to these cultural interpretations, but also utilize this value-loaded language to understand different individuals and groups.For Habermas, “theory” as espoused by the human sciences does not reflect an ahistorical, a priori understanding of how humans behave. Instead, theory acts to justify the technical controls enforced by contemporary bureaucratic society for the manipulation of human behavior. The language of theory is rooted not in pure knowledge, but in the values and expectations of embodied within the discourse of a particular society.This dense discussion of language and intersubjectivity underlies Habermas’ assertion that it is impossible to develop a theory of human behavior apart from and exterior to the linguistic discourse rooted in the interests of a particular society. Instead, the most that can be expected from theory is a recognition that any theoretical presuppositions concerning human behavior are based upon discursive valuations that attempt to justify political practice in light of interpretive assumptions. In short, it is impossible to separate theories from the practical interest of societal preservation. Or, in Marxian terms, the preservation of a particular economic class.Habermas’ “Theory and Practice” provides a valuable introduction to this great philosopher’s approach to the human sciences. Highly recommended!

⭐

Keywords

Free Download Theory and Practice in PDF format
Theory and Practice PDF Free Download
Download Theory and Practice 1988 PDF Free
Theory and Practice 1988 PDF Free Download
Download Theory and Practice PDF
Free Download Ebook Theory and Practice