Philosopher Jürgen Habermas dies at 96

BarcelonaThe German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas (Düsseldorf, Germany 1929 – Stanberg, Germany 2026) died on Saturday at the age of 96, according to a statement released by the publishing house Suhrkamp, ​​which quoted his family. Habermas, one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century and a member of the second generation of the Frankfurt School, began his career in the 1950s at the Institute for Social Research with Theodor W. Adorno. In 1961, he received his doctorate from Marburg with his dissertation. The structural transformation of the public sphere

After a few years at the University of Heidelberg, in 1964 he assumed the Max Horkheimer Chair of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Frankfurt. His inaugural lecture in 1968 led to the publication of the book Knowledge and interest (1968). In 1986 he received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), considered the highest distinction in German research. In 2003 he received the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences.

From 1971 to 1983 he was director at the Max Planck Institute for research on the living conditions of the scientific and technological world. Among his best-known works is the Theory of communicative actionwhich he published in two volumes in 1981. In this text, Habermas analyzes social interaction, tracing its origins to rituals and sacred elements, and argues that during modernity it is transformed through language. Based on his analysis of communication, the philosopher proposes a new idea of ​​reason: discursive reason. In 1983, Habermas returned to the University of Frankfurt as a professor of philosophy and sociology, where he remained until his retirement in 1994. Beyond his philosophical theories, Habermas was particularly known for his public pronouncements on political matters. He did so for decades, which made him one of the most important intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. After World War II, he participated in all the major debates and argued that Europe was the only remedy for the rise of nationalism. In this sense, his thinking was fundamental for analyzing European democracies, especially from the second half of the 20th century onward.

"The defining historical fact of Habermas's thought is the realization of the barbarity of the Third Reich. All his books, perhaps all his ideas, must be understood against this backdrop. Hence his defense of the European project, as a safeguard against the totalitarianism that arises from the over-totalitarianism that arises / philosopher Daniel Gamper, in an article in the ARA

For years, Habermas suffered from a speech impediment due to a congenital cleft palate. He spent his final days on the shores of Lake Starnberg, from where he spoke out on political issues such as the Kosovo War, brain research, and religious conflicts.