In this new collection of recent essays, Habermas takes up and pursues the line of analysis begun in The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity. He begins by outlining the sources and central themes of twentieth-century philosophy, and the range of current debates. He then examines a number of key contributions to these debates, from the pragmatic philosophies of Mead, Perice and Rorty to the post-structuralism of Foucault.

Like most contemporary thinkers, Habermas is critical of the Western metaphysical tradition and its exaggerated conception of reason. But he cautions against the temptation to relinquish this conception altogether. In opposition to the radical critics of Western philosophy, Habermas argues that postmetaphysical thinking can remain critical only if it preserves the idea of reason while stripping it of its metaphysical trappings. Habermas contributes to this task by developing further his distinctive approach to problems of meaning, rationality and subjectivity.

This book will be of particular interest to students of philosophy, sociology and social and political theory, and it will be essential reading for anyone interested in the continuing development of Habermas's project.

于尔根·哈贝马斯（Jurgen Habermas, 1929- ）,德国当代最负盛名的哲学家和社会理论家,法兰克福学派第二代领军人物。哈贝马斯1929年生于杜塞尔多夫,1950年代前期先后在哥廷根、苏黎世和波恩上大学,攻读哲学、历史学、心理学、经济学等,后期曾在法兰克福社会研究所担任阿多诺的助手。六十年代先后任海德堡大学哲学副教授和法兰克福大学哲学与社会学教授。1971年至1980年担任马克斯·普朗克学会“科技时代生存条件”研究所所长,1983年回法兰克福大学任哲学教授,至1994年退休。哈贝马斯知识渊博,学术兴趣广泛,并有着强烈的现实关怀,其理论的核心可以说是通过批判理论的“语言学转向”,以交往行为理论来捍卫启蒙的现代性立场。主要著作除本书外还有：《公共领域的结构变迁》（1962）,《作为“意识形态”的科学技术》（1968）,《认知与兴趣》（1968）,《后期资本主义的合法性问题》（1973）,《历史唯物主义的重建》（1976）,《交往行为理论》（1981）,《现代性的哲学话语》（1985）,《话语的伦理学》（1991）。