ABSTRACT
Given his status as heir to the Frankfurt tradition of critical theory, it is not always recognized that Jurgen Habermas is deeply committed to pragmatist thought. George Herbert Mead’s work figures centrally in his approach to social theory. His base propositions are empirically oriented. Habermas (1985) largely followed Charles S.Peirce’s critique of foundationalist philosophy: “As a good pragmatist, I hold the view that a philosopher’s capacity to create problems through intentionally inciting doubt is quite limited. I share Peirce’s doubt about any type of Cartesian doubt” (p. 198).
