1001Philosophers

Karl-Otto Apel Quotes

Karl-Otto Apel was a German philosopher and one of the principal architects, with Habermas, of discourse ethics. After early work on the history of linguistic philosophy, he developed his own program of transcendental pragmatics, which sought to ground ethics in the indispensable presuppositions of rational argumentation. The quotes below are attributed to Karl-Otto Apel, organized by topic.

Karl-Otto Apel on Knowledge

  • Attributed to Karl-Otto Apel:

    “The transformation of philosophy is its turn to language.”

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Karl-Otto Apel on Truth

  • Attributed to Karl-Otto Apel:

    “Argumentation always presupposes a community of communication.”

  • Attributed to Karl-Otto Apel:

    “Communication is the a priori of philosophy.”

  • Attributed to Karl-Otto Apel:

    “Truth is what could be agreed upon under ideal conditions of communication.”

Read all Karl-Otto Apel quotes on Truth

Karl-Otto Apel on Virtue

  • Attributed to Karl-Otto Apel:

    “There can be no rational argumentation that does not presuppose ethics.”