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Guilty Aesthetic Pleasures
by Timothy AubryFor scholars invested in supporting or challenging dominant ideologies, the beauty of literature seemed frivolous, even complicit with social iniquities. Suspicion of aesthetics became a way to establish the rigor of one’s thought and the purity of one’s politics. Yet aesthetic pleasure never disappeared, Timothy Aubrey writes. It went underground.
‘Guilty Women’, Foreign Policy, and Appeasement in Inter-War Britain: Foreign Policy, And Appeasement In Inter-war Britain
by Julie V. GottliebBritish women were deeply invested in foreign policy between the wars. This study casts new light on the turn to international affairs in feminist politics, the gendered representation and experience of the Munich Crisis, and the profound impression made by female public opinion on PM Neville Chamberlain in his negotiations with the dictators.
The Guise of the Good: A Philosophical History (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory)
by Francesco OrsiThis is the first book to trace the doctrine of the guise of the good throughout the history of Western philosophy. It offers a chronological narrative exploring how the doctrine was formulated, the arguments for and against it, and the broader role it played in the thought of different philosophers. In recent years there has been a rich debate about whether value judgment or value perception must form an essential part of mental states such as emotions and desires, and whether intentional actions must always be done for reasons that seem good to the agent. This has sparked new theoretical interest in the classical doctrine of the guise of the good: whenever we desire (to do) something, we see it under the guise of the good; that is, we conceive of what we desire as good, desirable, or justified by reasons, in some way or another. This book offers a systematic historical treatment of the guise of the good. The chapters span from Ancient and Medieval philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas), through the early modern period (Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, and Kant) and up to Elizabeth Anscombe's rediscovery in the 20th century after a period of relative neglect. Together they demonstrate how history can offer potential new models of the guise of the good—or new arguments against it—as well as to give a sense of how the guise of the good can bear on other philosophical issues. The Guise of the Good: A Philosophical History is an excellent resource for scholars and students working on the history of ethics, philosophy of action, and practical reason.
The Guise of the Good: A Philosophical History (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory)
by Francesco OrsiThis is the first book to trace the doctrine of the guise of the good throughout the history of Western philosophy. It offers a chronological narrative exploring how the doctrine was formulated, the arguments for and against it, and the broader role it played in the thought of different philosophers. In recent years there has been a rich debate about whether value judgment or value perception must form an essential part of mental states such as emotions and desires, and whether intentional actions must always be done for reasons that seem good to the agent. This has sparked new theoretical interest in the classical doctrine of the guise of the good: whenever we desire (to do) something, we see it under the guise of the good; that is, we conceive of what we desire as good, desirable, or justified by reasons, in some way or another. This book offers a systematic historical treatment of the guise of the good. The chapters span from Ancient and Medieval philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas), through the early modern period (Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, and Kant) and up to Elizabeth Anscombe's rediscovery in the 20th century after a period of relative neglect. Together they demonstrate how history can offer potential new models of the guise of the good—or new arguments against it—as well as to give a sense of how the guise of the good can bear on other philosophical issues.The Guise of the Good: A Philosophical History is an excellent resource for scholars and students working on the history of ethics, philosophy of action, and practical reason.
The Gülen Movement
by Helen Rose EbaughThis is a book about an Islamic movement, the Gülen Movement, that is rooted in a moderate version of Islam and that promotes interfaith and intercultural dialog and global peace. Based on interviews with supporters of the movement in Turkey and in the U.S. and visits to Gülen-inspired schools, hospitals, newspapers and relief organizations, the book describes a movement that has millions of supporters in Turkey and that has spread to over 100 countries on five continents.
Gurdjieff and the Fourth Way: An Esoteric Legacy
by Stephen A. GrantA profound new look at Gurdjieff&’s life, teaching, and role as a spiritual leader through the lens of esotericism.Gurdjieff warned against taking anything literally or on faith, and he advised accepting only experience that could be lived oneself. He also said that one has to find out &“how to know&” and that understanding higher knowledge depends on one&’s &“level of being.&” The aim of the Fourth Way is toward a change of being—from the level of man number one, two, and three to that of man number four. Stephen Grant offers a fundamental reassessment of Gurdjieff as a spiritual leader and the Fourth Way as an esoteric teaching. This includes recognizing the Fourth Way as esoteric Buddhism.This book outlines Gurdjieff&’s early life and view of ancient history, followed by the itinerant course of his teaching from Russia in 1915 to his death in Paris in 1949. The discussion then focuses on his esoteric mission—to bring the Fourth Way to the West—and its three major stages: (1) introducing the system of ideas to and through P. D. Ouspensky; (2) writing his own theory of the teaching, principally in Beelzebub&’s Tales; and (3) passing on the practical teaching to and through Jeanne de Salzmann. The last five chapters deal with Gurdjieff&’s relationship with his closest pupils, his system of ideas, his hidden doctrine in Beelzebub&’s Tales, and the practical knowledge revealed by Mme. de Salzmann.
Gurdjieff in the Light of Tradition
by Whitall PerryProbably no figure of our time has excited at once more enthusiasm and controversy among serious intellectuals seeking spiritual guidance than Georgi ivanovitch Gurdjieff. According, the editor of Studies in Comparative Religion engaged Whitall N. Perry, who as author of A Treausry of Traditional Wisdom is recognized for his impartiality, to devote a series of articles that world pierce through the obscurity and get to the real facts of the master. Thisbook is the result of that research. Whatever be the opinion of Gurdjieff gained by the reader, one thing certain is that he or she will come away with a far clearer understanding of the background, teaching, and phenomenon perse than has ever been accessible before.
Gurdjieff Reconsidered: The Life, the Teachings, the Legacy
by Roger Lipsey Cynthia BourgeaultFrom a master biographer and longtime Gurdjieff practitioner, a brilliant new exploration of the quintessential Western esoteric teacher of the twentieth-century.The Greek-Armenian teacher G.I. Gurdjieff was one of the most original and provocative spiritual teachers in the twentieth-century West. Whereas much work on Gurdjieff has been either fawning or blindly critical, acclaimed scholar and writer Lipsey balances sympathetic interest in Gurdjieff and his "Fourth Way" teachings with a historian's sense of context and a biographer's feel for personality and relationships. Using a wide range of published and unpublished sources, Lipsey explores Gurdjieff's formative travels in Central Asia, his famed teaching institution in France, the development of the Gurdjieff Movements and music, and, above all, Gurdjieff's fascinating continuous evolution as a teacher. Published on the 70th anniversary of Gurdjieff's death, Gurdjieff Reconsidered delves deeply into Gurdjieff's writings and those of his most important students, including P. D. Ouspensky and Jeanne de Salzmann. Lipsey's comprehensive approach and unerring sense of the subject make this a must-read for anyone with a serious intention to explore Gurdjieff's life, teachings, and reputation.
The Guru Principle: A Guide to the Teacher-Student Relationship in Buddhism
by Shenpen HookhamA clear-headed and relatable guidebook for navigating the student-teacher relationship by one of the first female Buddhist teachers in the West.All major forms of Buddhism stress the need for a teacher. However, the importance of having a guide or guru is sometimes a source of cultural and spiritual confusion as Buddhism expands in the West. A clear understanding of the Buddhist view of the guru is essential for the student-teacher relationship to be beneficial for one's spiritual growth.Collecting over fifty years of personal experiences as both a student and a teacher, Shenpen Hookham writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions and a great deal of confusion in communities taking root in the West. With honesty and clarity, Hookham discusses the roles of the teacher, practices related to the guru, and commonly asked questions she receives as a teacher. This handbook is the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way everything you need to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart.
Gut Feminism
by Elizabeth A. WilsonIn Gut Feminism Elizabeth A. Wilson urges feminists to rethink their resistance to biological and pharmaceutical data. Turning her attention to the gut and depression, she asks what conceptual and methodological innovations become possible when feminist theory isn't so instinctively antibiological. She examines research on anti-depressants, placebos, transference, phantasy, eating disorders and suicidality with two goals in mind: to show how pharmaceutical data can be useful for feminist theory, and to address the necessary role of aggression in feminist politics. Gut Feminism's provocative challenge to feminist theory is that it would be more powerful if it could attend to biological data and tolerate its own capacity for harm.
Gute Begutachtung?: Ethische Perspektiven der Evaluation von Ethikkommissionen zur medizinischen Forschung am Menschen
by Monika Bobbert Gregor ScherzingerDie Unverzichtbarkeit der Beratung bzw. Prüfung einer medizinischen Studie durch eine Ethikkommission ist weithin anerkannt. Dennoch sind Forschungsethikkommissionen immer wieder der Kritik, z.B. nach mehr Effizienz, Transparenz oder Konsistenz ausgesetzt. Evaluationsinstrumente für Ethikkommissionen beinhalten oft implizite Vorstellungen „guter“ Qualität. Aus ethischer Sicht sind vor allem der Schutz der Versuchsperson und eine vertretbare Schaden-Nutzen-Bewertung wichtig. Der interdisziplinäre Sammelband geht der Frage auf den Grund, wie sich eine Qualitätsverbesserung aus ethischer Sicht gewährleisten und umsetzen lässt. Der Inhalt· Ethikkommissionen im rechtlichen und ethischen Diskurs· Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen von Ethikkommissionen in der Schweiz und organisatorische und prozedurale Qualitätskriterien· Forschungs-Ethikkommissionen in der Schweiz: Qualitätsbewertung aus ethischer Sicht· Ethikkommissionen als Patientenschutzkommissionen· Die ethische Aufgabe von Ethikkommissionen angesichts normativer Divergenz von Therapie und Forschung· Ethische Theorien und die Bewertung von Forschungsvorhaben· Kriterien für die ethische Qualität des Begutachtungsprozesses· Schutz der Versuchsperson: Forderungen aus ethischer Sicht zur Struktur-, Prozess- und ErgebnisqualitätDie HerausgeberProf. Dr. Monika Bobbert lehrt und forscht zur Moraltheologie und Medizinethik an der Universität Münster.Dr. Gregor Scherzinger ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Sozialethik der Universität Luzern.
Gutes Denken: Wie Experten Entscheidungen fällen
by Denise D. CumminsEine Expedition durch die Landschaft des kritischen Denkens Was ist kluges Denken? Wann bezeichnen Psychologen eine Idee als „kreative Einsicht“? Was verstehen Ökonomen unter einem „rationalen Agenten“? Mit welchen logischen Argumenten untermauern Philosophen ihre Forderung, „moralischen Imperativen“ zu gehorchen? Wenn Experten Entscheidungen fällen, folgen sie dabei gewöhnlich einigen wichtigen, aber bisweilen kontraintuitiven Konzepten. Sie nutzen spezifische Analysetechniken und Denkmethoden, um bestimmte Sachverhalte zu beurteilen, etwa wenn es zu ermitteln gilt, ob jemand schuldig oder unschuldig ist, welche Geldanlage die sicherste ist oder welches Medikament eine Krankheit am wirksamsten bekämpft. Gutes Denken erkundet die Wege, die Fachleute verschiedener Disziplinen beschreiten, um Probleme zu lösen, die unmittelbare Auswirkungen auf unser tägliches Leben haben. Die Lektüre dieses Buches bringt Ihnen die sieben wichtigsten Konzepte nahe und liefert Ihnen so das Rüstzeug, um selbst klarer zu denken, überzeugender zu argumentieren und klüger zu entscheiden. Cummins bietet einen geistreichen und klar gegliederten Überblick über die entscheidenden Aspekte menschlicher Denkprozesse…. Die klug gewählten Beispiele verankern die Themen unmittelbar in der Alltagserfahrung der Leser.“ Richard Gerrig, Psychologie-Professor an der Stony Brook University und Co-Autor des weltweit bewährten Lehrbuches „Psychologie“ Die sieben Schlüsselkonzepte des Denkens Wenn Sie dieses Buch gelesen haben, werden Sie in zweierlei Hinsicht weiser sein. Sie werden wissen, wie die besten und klügsten Denker entscheiden, argumentieren, Probleme lösen und richtig von falsch unterscheiden. Aber Ihnen wird auch bewusst sein, dass es durchaus nicht immer schlecht ist, wenn man diese Standards nicht erfüllt. Denise D. Cummins stellt Ihnen die sieben entscheidenden Denkkonzepte vor, die die Welt verändert haben: Denken lässt sich automatisieren, daher können wir Maschinen bauen, die denken.Um Probleme zu lösen, sollten Sie immer Wege suchen, die den Abstand zwischen Ihrer aktuellen Situation und Ihrer Zielsituation verringern. Einsicht ist quasi eine implizite Suche.Einige Gedanken führen zu weitergehenden Überlegungen, andere tun das nicht, und es gibt Regeln, mit denen Sie feststellen können, welche zur ersten Gruppe gehören und welche zur zweiten.Um herauszufinden, was wahr ist, sollten Sie am besten zuerst herausfinden, was falsch ist.Um zu entscheiden, welche Ursache etwas hat, ist es nötig, Alternativen zu bedenken. Sie werden nicht immer bekommen, was Sie möchten, aber Sie können herausfinden, was Ihnen am ehesten dazu verhelfen wird.Das Spiel ändert sich, wenn Sie es nicht allein spielen.[Cummins] diskutiert, wie Ökonomen, Philosophen und andere Fachleute definiert haben, was eine Entscheidung rational oder ein Urteil moralisch macht. Sie legt die sieben Grundsätze des kritischen Denkens dar und erkundet die Taktiken, mit denen sich fehlerhafte Logik korrigieren lässt. Scientific American.
Gyanyog: ज्ञानयोग
by Swami Vivekanandaस्वामी विवेकानन्द के ज्ञानयोग सम्बन्धित व्याख्यान, उपदेशों तथा लेखों को लिपिबद्ध कर 'ज्ञानयोग' पुस्तक में संकलित किया है। स्वामी विवेकानन्द द्वारा वेदान्त पर दिये गये भाषाणों का संग्रह ‘ज्ञानयोग’ है। इन व्याख्यानों में श्री स्वामीजी ने वेदान्त के गूढ़ तत्त्वों की ऐसे सरल, स्पष्ट तथा सुन्दर रूप से विवेचना की है कि आजकल के शिक्षित जनसमुदाय को ये खूब जँच जाते हैं। उन्होंने यह दर्शाया है कि वैयक्तिक तथा सामुदायिक जीवन-गठन में वेदान्त किस प्रकार सहायक होता है। मनुष्य के विचारों का उच्चतम स्तर वेदान्त है और इसी की ओर संसार की समस्त विचारधाराएँ शनैःशनैः प्रवाहित हो रही हैं। अन्त में वे सब वेदान्त में ही लीन होंगी। स्वामीजी ने यह भी दर्शाया है कि मनुष्य के दैवी स्वरूप पर वेदान्त कितना ज़ोर देता है और किस प्रकार इसी में समस्त विश्व की आशा, कल्याण एवं शान्ति निहित है और हमें पूर्ण विश्वास है कि वेदान्त तथा भारतीय संस्कृति के प्रेमियों को इस पुस्तक से विशेष लाभ होगा।
The H-Word: The Peripeteia of Hegemony
by Perry AndersonA fascinating history of the political theory of hegemonyFew terms are so widely used in the literature of international relations and political science, with so little agreement about their exact meaning, as hegemony. In the first full historical study of its fortunes as a concept, Perry Anderson traces its emergence in Ancient Greece and its rediscovery during the upheavals of 1848–1849 in Germany. He then follows its checkered career in revolutionary Russia, fascist Italy, Cold War America, Gaullist France, Thatcher’s Britain, post-colonial India, feudal Japan, Maoist China, eventually arriving at the world of Merkel and May, Bush and Obama. The result is a surprising and fascinating expedition into global intellectual history, ending with reflections on the contemporary political landscape.
Habermas: The Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy
by Hugh BaxterThough many legal theorists are familiar with Jürgen Habermas's work addressing core legal concerns, they are not necessarily familiar with his earlier writings in philosophy and social theory. Because Habermas's later work on law invokes, without significant explanation, the whole battery of concepts developed in earlier phases of his career, even otherwise sympathetically inclined legal theorists face significant obstacles in evaluating his insights. A similar difficulty faces those outside the legal academy who are familiar with Habermas's earlier work. While they readily comprehend Habermas's basic social-theoretical concepts, without special legal training they have difficulty reliably assessing his recent engagement with contemporary legal thought. This new work bridges the gap between legal experts and those without special legal training, critically assessing the attempt of an unquestionably preeminent philosopher and social theorist to engage the world of law.
Habermas: Essays On Habermas's Between Facts And Norms (The Routledge Philosophers)
by Kenneth BaynesJürgen Habermas is one of the most important German philosophers and social theorists of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. His work has been compared in scope with Max Weber’s, and in philosophical breadth to that of Kant and Hegel. In this much-needed introduction Kenneth Baynes engages with the full range of Habermas’s philosophical work, addressing his early arguments concerning the emergence of the public sphere and his initial attempt to reconstruct a critical theory of society in Knowledge and Human Interests. He then examines one of Habermas’s most influential works, The Theory of Communicative Action, including his controversial account of the rational interpretation of social action. Also covered is Habermas’s work on discourse ethics, political and legal theory, including his views on the relation between democracy and constitutionalism, and his arguments concerning human rights and cosmopolitanism. The final chapter assesses Habermas’s role as a polemical and prominent public intellectual and his criticism of postmodernism in The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, in addition to his more recent writings on the relationship between religion and democracy. Habermas is an invaluable guide to this key figure in contemporary philosophy, and suitable for anyone coming to his work for the first time.
Habermas: A Very Short Introduction
by James Gordon FinlaysonThis book gives a clear and readable overview of the philosophical work of Jurgen Habermas, the most influential German philosopher alive today, who has commented widely on subjects such as Marxism, the importance and effectiveness of communication, the reunification of Germany, and the European Union. Gordon Finlayson provides readers with a clear and readable overview of Habermas's forbiddingly complex philosophy using concrete examples and accessible language. He then goes on to analyze both the theoretical underpinnings of Habermas's social theory, and its more concrete applications in the fields of ethics, politics, and law; and concludes with an examination how Habermas's social and political theory informs his writing on contemporary, political, and social problems.
Habermas
by Stephen K. WhiteThis volume examines the historical and intellectual contexts out of which Habermas' work emerged, and offers an overview of his main ideas, including those in his most recent publication. Among the topics discussed are: his relationship to Marx and the Frankfurt School of critical theory, his unique contributions to the philosophy of social sciences, the concept of "communicative ethics," and the critique of postmodernism. Particular attention is paid to Habermas' recent work on democratic theory and the constitutional state.
Habermas and Literary Rationality (Routledge Studies In Contemporary Philosophy Ser. #20)
by David L. ColclasureLiterary scholarship has paid little serious attention to Habermas' philosophy, and, on the other hand, the reception of Habermas has given little attention to the role that literary practice can play in a broader theory of communicative action. David Colclasure's argument sets out to demonstrate that a specific, literary form of rationality inheres in literary practice and the public reception of literary works which provides a unique contribution to the political public sphere.
Habermas and Pragmatism
by Mitchell Aboulafia Myra Bookman Catherine KempThere are few living thinkers who have enjoyed the eminence and reown of Jürgen Hamermas. His work has been highly influential not only in philosopy, but also in the fields of politics, sociology and law. This is the first collection dedicated to exploring the connections between his body of work ahd America's most significant philosophical movement, pragmatism. Habermas and Pragmatism considers the influence of pragmatism on Habermas's thought and the tensions between Habermasian social theory and pragmatism. Essays by distinguished pragmatists, legal and critical theorists, and Habermas cover a range of subjects including the philosophy of language, the nature of rationality, democracy, objectivity, transcendentalism, aesthetics, and law. The collection also addresses the relationship to Habermas of Kant, Peirce, Mead, Dewey, Piaget, Apel, Brandom and Rorty.
Habermas and Rawls: Disputing the Political (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy #23)
by James Gordon Finlayson Fabian FreyenhagenHabermas and Rawls are two heavyweights of social and political philosophy, and they are undoubtedly the two most written about (and widely read) authors in this field. However, there has not been much informed and interesting work on the points of intersection between their projects, partly because their work comes from different traditions—roughly the European tradition of social and political theory and the Anglo-American analytic tradition of political philosophy. In this volume, contributors re-examine the Habermas-Rawls dispute with an eye toward the ways in which the dispute can cast light on current controversies about political philosophy more broadly. Moreover, the volume will cover a number of other salient issues on which Habermas and Rawls have interesting and divergent views, such as the political role of religion and international justice.
Habermas and Ricoeur's Depth Hermeneutics
by Vinicio BusacchiThis book presents a critical and systematic study of the possibility to consider and practice Freud's psychoanalysis as a form of depth hermeneutics. It contributes to a screening of the possibility of a hermeneutical interpretation of psychoanalysis, particularly with respect to the therapeutic practice. The book is an investigation into the philosophical implications of the hermeneutical re-reading of psychoanalysis and clarifies the real speculative and theoretical potential behind the dialectic of hermeneutics and psychoanalysis. It examines two themes which, so far, have remained unclarified and unexplored in their potentiality: firstly, at the level of a construction of a procedural model for the human and social sciences, as well as for philosophy, and, secondly, at the level of a philosophy of the human being able to subsume and express the biological and natural dimension of human identity as well as its historical narrative and social identity.
Habermas and the Crisis of Democracy: Interviews with Leading Thinkers
by Emilie Prattico"Emilie Prattico has used the lens of a discourse-theoretic conception of deliberative democracy to engage eight prominent colleagues in stimulating interviews. They critically illuminate the various ways that a sound democratic regime depends upon the deliberative milieu of an inclusive public sphere." - Jürgen Habermas The continued rise of populism and authoritarianism throughout the world has witnessed an alarming attack on basic democratic freedoms and led to a divided political and social world. Few thinkers have done as much as Jürgen Habermas to understand and critique these problems, perhaps most famously through his notions of the public sphere, deliberative democracy, and discourse ethics. In this fascinating book, Emilie Prattico considers the crisis of democracy from a Habermasian standpoint via engaging interviews with an outstanding lineup of leading philosophers and thinkers. The following key topics are unpacked and explored: Can some basic rights and liberties be given up to safeguard democracy? With Hauke Brunkhorst How does actual deliberation confer legitimacy to democratic decisions? With Cristina Lafont Why is "fake news" a crisis of democracy? With Michael Lynch How can we build a public sphere together and share it in a world characterized by divisiveness and tribalism? With Barbara Fultner Can democracy survive without the voice of experts? With Kenneth Baynes How dangerous are the current forms of authoritarianism we are seeing take hold all over the world? With María Pía Lara What does the public sphere look like with new technologies? With Gertrud Koch What duties do we owe descendants of slaves and how do we reckon with our antidemocratic and oppressive past? With Lorenzo Simpson Also including a Foreword by Habermas himself, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the challenges facing democracy and liberalism today. It will be of great interest to those in philosophy, sociology, and politics as well as related fields such as religion and law.
Habermas and Theology
by Nicholas AdamsHow can the world's religious traditions debate within the public sphereï 1/2 In this book Nicholas Adams shows the importance of Habermas' approaches to this question. The full range of Habermas' work is considered, with detailed commentary on the more difficult texts. Adams energetically rebuts some of Habermas' arguments, particularly those which postulate the irrationality or stability of religious thought. Members of different religious traditions need to understand their own ethical positions as part of a process of development involving ongoing disagreements, rather than a stable unchanging morality. Public debate additionally requires learning each other's patterns of disagreement. Adams argues that rather than suspending their deep reasoning to facilitate debate, as Habermas suggests, religious traditions must make their reasoning public, and that 'scriptural reasoning' is a possible model for this. Habermas overestimates the stability of religious traditions. This book offers a more realistic assessment of the difficulties and opportunities they face.
Habermas between Critical Theory and Liberalism
by Kire SharlamanovThis book identifies the turning points in Habermas's work and his transition from one stage to another in the development of his theoretical oeuvre. Habermas began his academic career as part of the Frankfurt School, but the two key points at which his career changes trajectory are moving from historical materialism to normative idealism and playing with some of the ideas of liberalism. Normative idealism is an ahistorical theory that insists on the independence of the normative from material reality, severing the connection between base and superstructure that Marx wrote about. The break with the basic concepts of Marxism enabled Habermas to build his own discursive (critical) theory, which, especially since the end of the 1980s, takes the ideas of liberalism seriously. This book makes a systematic, multidimensional and detailed analysis of Habermas's theoretical oeuvre in two dimensions, chronological (in the order in which Habermas worked on certain topics) and thematic (enclosingcertain thematic units).