Jurgen Habermas - Collected Philosophical Works (47 books)

* Jürgen Habermas - Collected Philosophical Works (47 books)

JÜRGEN HABERMAS (1929–2026) was a German philosopher and sociologist widely recognized as one of the most influential thinkers of the post-Second World War era, bridging continental critical theory with Anglo-American analytic philosophy.  Associated with the second generation of the Frankfurt School, Habermas developed a comprehensive social theory dedicated to the possibilities of human emancipation, reason, and rational-critical communication.  His work focuses on defending the Enlightenment project of modernity as "unfinished," advocating for a democratic public sphere and deliberative democracy against the encroaching forces of instrumental rationality.

Habermas first gained wide recognition with THE STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE (1962), in which he traced the historical emergence of the bourgeois public sphere in eighteenth-century Europe and its subsequent decline under the pressures of mass media and consumer capitalism.  The work introduced a key theme of his career: that democracy emerged and could continue to exist in a healthy form only if there was a space that was outside the control of the state, where deliberation and the exchange of ideas could freely occur.  Following this, KNOWLEDGE AND HUMAN INTERESTS (1968) sought to connect human knowledge-constitutive interests—technical, practical, and emancipatory—with a critical theory of society.

His mature, landmark theory is articulated in the two-volume THEORY OF COMMUNICATIVE ACTION (1981), which advanced a theory of rationality grounded in interpersonal linguistic communication rather than in instrumental or strategic reason.  He also introduced the influential distinction between “system” and “lifeworld,” diagnosing how bureaucratic and economic systems can “colonize” everyday social life.

Habermas later extended his communicative theory into the realms of ethics and law.  MORAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND COMMUNICATIVE ACTION (1983) developed "discourse ethics," arguing that valid norms are those agreed upon by all participants in an ideal, free speech situation.  This was followed by BETWEEN FACTS AND NORMS: CONTRIBUTIONS TO A DISCOURSE THEORY OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY (1992), which offered a comprehensive framework for deliberative democracy, aiming to ground legal legitimacy in communicative processes.

As a prominent public intellectual, Habermas frequently intervened in political debates regarding Nazi history, reunification, and European integration.  He also turned his attention to the place of religion in the public sphere.  Prompted in part by the hostility toward Muslims in Europe, he wrote in a number of books, such as BETWEEN NATURALISM AND RELIGION (2005), about "post-secular" society in which he sought to reconcile the atheistic tradition of the Enlightenment with modern religion, and reflexive faith with the institutions of democracy.

Jürgen Habermas died on March 14, 2026, leaving behind an extensive legacy that continues to shape discussions on ethics, politics, and the future of democracy.


The following books are in PDF and/or ePUB format as noted:

* Also a History of Philosophy, Vol. 1 [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2023) – PDF^
* An Awareness of What is Missing [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2010) – ePUB / PDF
* A Berlin Republic: Writings on Germany [tr. Rendall] (Polity, 1998) – ePUB
* Between Facts and Norms [tr. Rehg] (MIT, 1996) – ePUB / PDF
* Between Naturalism and Religion [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2008) – ePUB / PDF
* Communication and the Evolution of Society [tr. McCarthy] (Beacon, 1979) – ePUB / PDF
* The Crisis of the European Union: A Response [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2012) – ePUB / PDF
* The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion [ed. Schuller] (Ignatius, 2006) – ePUB
* The Divided West [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2006) – PDF
* The Future of Human Nature [tr. Rehg et al.] (Polity, 2003) – PDF
* Europe: The Faltering Project [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2009) – ePUB / PDF
* The Inclusion of the Other [tr. Cronin & de Greiff] (Polity, 1999) – ePUB / PDF
* Justification and Application: Remarks on Discourse Ethics [tr. Cronin] (MIT, 1993) – PDF
* Knowledge and Human Interests [tr. Shapiro] (Polity, 1987) – ePUB
* Law and Morality [Tanner Lecture on Human Values] (1986) – PDF
* Legitimation Crisis [tr. McCarthy] (Polity, 1988) – ePUB
* The Liberating Power of Symbols: Philosophical Essays [tr. Dews] (Polity, 2001) – ePUB / PDF
* The Lure of Technocracy [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2015) – ePUB
* Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action [tr. Lenhardt & Nicholsen] (Polity, 1990) – ePUB / PDF
* The New Conservatism [tr. Nicholsen] (MIT, 1989) – ePUB / PDF
* A New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2023) – ePUB
* On the Logic of the Social Sciences [tr. Nicholsen & Stark] (Polity, 1988) – ePUB
* On the Pragmatics of Communication [ed. Cooke] (Polity, 1999) – PDF
* On the Pragmatics of Social Interaction [tr. Fultner] (MIT, 2001) – PDF
* Philosophical Discourse of Modernity [tr. Lawrence] (Polity, 1987) – ePUB
* Philosophical Introductions [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2018) – ePUB
* Philosophical-Political Profiles [tr. Lawrence] (Polity, 1985) – ePUB
* Postmetaphysical Thinking: Philosophical Essays [tr. Hohengarten] (Polity, 1992) – ePUB / PDF
* Postmetaphysical Thinking II: Essays and Replies [tr. Cronin] (Polity, 2017) – ePUB
* The Postnational Constellation: Political Essays [tr. Pensky] (Polity, 2001) – ePUB
* Religion and Rationality [ed. Mendieta] (Polity, 2002) – PDF
* The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere [tr. Burger] (Polity, 1989) – ePUB
* Theory and Practice [tr. Viertel] (Polity, 1988) – ePUB
* Theory of Communicative Action, vol. 1 [tr. McCarthy] (Beacon, 1984) – ePUB / PDF
* Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 2 [tr. McCarthy] (Beacon, 1987) – ePUB / PDF
* Time of Transitions [tr. Cronin & Pensky] (Polity, 2006) – ePUB
* Toward a Rational Society [tr. Shapiro] (Beacon, 1970) – ePUB / PDF
* Truth and Justification [tr. Fultner] (Polity, 2003) – ePUB / PDF

== EDITOR ==

* Observations on "The Spiritual Situation of the Age" [tr. Buchwalter] (MIT, 1984) – PDF

== CONTRIBUTOR ==

* Philosophy in a Time of Terror [Giovanni Borradori] (Chicago, 2003) – PDF
* The Positivist Dispute in German Sociology [tr. Adey & Frisby] (Heinemann, 1976) – PDF
* The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere [ed. Mendieta & VanAntwerpen] (Columbia, 2011) – ePUB / PDF

== INTERVIEWS ==

* Autonomy and Solidarity [ed. Dews, Revised] (Verso, 1992) – PDF

== ANTHOLOGY ==

* The Derrida–Habermas Reader [ed. Thomassen] (Edinburgh, 2006) – PDF
* Habermas on Society and Politics: A Reader [ed. Seidman] (Beacon, 1989) – PDF

== BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ==

* Corchia, Luca - Jürgen Habermas: A Bibliography, Vol. 1: Works by JH, 1952-2018 (2018)
* Corchia, Luca - Jürgen Habermas: A Bibliography, Vol. 2: Studies on JH, 1961-2020 (2020)

PDF^ courtesy of @Mohamed5438


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