Jurgen Habermas Quotes on Knowledge
Jurgen Habermas is a German philosopher and sociologist, the most influential heir of the Frankfurt School and the foremost theorist of communicative reason. This page collects quotes attributed to Jurgen Habermas on the topic of knowledge, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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Attributed to Jurgen Habermas:
“Truth is what we may agree on through argument, but it is not reducible to consensus.”
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Attributed to Jurgen Habermas:
“The ideal speech situation is a counterfactual presupposition built into every act of communication aimed at understanding.”
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“Habermas (1972) "Sprachspiel, intention und Bedeutung. Zu Motiven bei Sellars und Wittgenstein". In R.W. Wiggerhaus (Ed.) Sprachanalyse and Soziologie . Frankfurt: Suhrkamp). p. 334”
Subjects who reciprocally recognize each other as such, must consider each other as identical, insofar as they both take up the position of subject; they must at all times subsume themselves and the other under the same category. At the same time, the relation of reciprocity of recognition demands the non-identity of one and the other, both must also maintain their absolute difference, for to be a -
“This is called the paradoxical achievement of intersubjectivity”
Subjects who reciprocally recognize each other as such, must consider each other as identical, insofar as they both take up the position of subject; they must at all times subsume themselves and the other under the same category. At the same time, the relation of reciprocity of recognition demands the non-identity of one and the other, both must also maintain their absolute difference, for to be a -
“The speaker must choose a comprehensible [verständlich] expression so that speaker and hearer can understand one another.”
Habermas (1979) cited in: Werner Ulrich (1983) Critical heuristics of social planning . p. 123 -
“Habermas (1979) cited in: Werner Ulrich (1983) Critical heuristics of social planning . p. 123”
The speaker must choose a comprehensible [verständlich] expression so that speaker and hearer can understand one another. -
“I would in fact tend to have more confidence in the outcome of a democratic decision if there was a minority that voted against it, than if it was unanimous… Social psychology has amply shown the strength of this bandwagon effect.”
Habermas (1993) "Further reflections on the public sphere", in: Craig Calhoun Eds. Habermas and the Public Sphere . MIT Press. p. 441 -
“Habermas (1993) "Further reflections on the public sphere", in: Craig Calhoun Eds. Habermas and the Public Sphere . MIT Press. p. 441”
I would in fact tend to have more confidence in the outcome of a democratic decision if there was a minority that voted against it, than if it was unanimous… Social psychology has amply shown the strength of this bandwagon effect. -
“Technically speaking, since our complex societies are highly susceptible to interferences and accidents,they certainly offer ideal opportunities for a prompt disruption of normal activities. These disruptions can, with minimum expense, have considerably destructive consequences. Global terrorism is extreme both in its lack of realistic goals and in its cynical exploitation of the vulnerability of complex systems .”
Habermas (2004) in: Giovanna Borradori (2004) Philosophy in a Time of Terror: : Dialogues with Jurgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida . p. 34