ABSTRACT
The basic intuition underlying Jurgen Habermas's critique of the presuppositions of the philosophy of consciousness has in fact been present throughout his philosophy. The change that has taken place, however, is so fundamental that it is no longer a form of epistemology, but rather a theory of rationality founded on a philosophy of language, which constitutes the social-philosophical paradigm. An attempt at developing a theory of communicative action within the framework of a doctrine of method would mean remaining within the horizon of traditional epistemology. More important is his insistence on the paralyzing effect of a paradigm from the theory of consciousness on the critical, liberating and conciliatory aspects of the original critical theory in the beginning. A naturalistic theory is in itself insufficient for illustrating the political and normative aspects of the critique of the political economy and the theory of the revolutionary class consciousness.
