Contemporary Theorist. Elements of Theorist’s Work

Contemporary Theorist
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Contemporary Theorist
Elements of Theorist’s Work
Jurgen Habermas is a contemporary theorist who is considered as one of the world’s most prominent philosophers, and he made huge contributions to the understanding of the modern-day society. He contributed immensely to social theory and produced volumes of work about political and social philosophy. Some of the most important elements of his works can be categorized into the theory of communicative action, the philosophy of language, aspects of discourse ethics, and his thoughts and opinions on deliberative democracy (Terry, 2006). His work is a representation of a contemporary approach towards critical theory. Furthermore, his supradisciplinary writings were a combination of sociology and philosophy in collaboration with other types of social theories. The analysis made by Habermas develops on the ideologies of past social philosophers and theorists such as Marx, Kant, Weber, Hegel, Parsons, and Mead.
Habermas’ fundamental concerns were based on rationality, modernity, freedom, autonomy, communication and human happiness, and their interconnectedness to societal changes. Scholars are of the opinion that these concerns are closely related to the works of past critical theorists. Evidence also indicates that Habermas managed to develop a detailed social theory by examining the relationship between social structures and institutions, a person and interaction, and how the forces of change contribute to societal development (uregina. CA, 2006). This was instrumental in creating a link between structure (society) and agency (individual), and Habermas integrated these into a theory of evolution and historical change.
Theory of Communicative Action
The Theory of Communicative Action (1981) is perhaps one of Habermas’ most significant contributions, where he examined the theory of social rationalization and the theory of communicative rationality (uregina. CA, 2006). The theory of communicative action holds that it is through communication that the entire society can evolve and communicate, and the processes are structured and encompassed by the actions of the actors. This implies that Habermas examines the way people communicate, interact via communication, and the result of these processes defines the strategies that people can operate in this social world. According to Habermas, communicative action cannot simply be described as a process of finding a solution for reaching an understanding. This is because actors are usually involved in the interaction processes with the aim of developing, renewing, and confirming their own identities and the memberships in social circles and groups.
It is important to note that it is not very clear whether the theory of communicative action eventually leads to the development of a complete understanding of the relationships in the social world. However, it is clear that the approach that was developed by Habermas has enabled social theorists to focus more closely on communication and language. For instance, Habermas examined the rationality of the contemporary age and argued that it could either become either instrumental or functional (Mat...