ABSTRACT
A key aspect of Jurgen Habermas' work has been the development of a theory of communicative rationality using what he calls universal pragmatics. Habermas is considered both a philosopher and a sociologist, and the most influential surviving representative of the Frankfurt School's neo-Marxist social philosophy or critical theory. This chapter considers Habermas' perception of the nature of the social through his debate with the philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Habermas' perspective on religion through his dialogue with the Catholic theologian Joseph Ratzinger. Habermas argues, fundamentally, that the very act of communication is the beginning of dialogue and one in which partners are open to the possibilities of agreement and social action. Habermas, as the leading exponent of critical theory, regarded Gadamer's approach as at best intellectual conservatism and at worst reactionary. The purpose of Habermas's work, both as philosopher and as sociologist, as Morrison points out, 'not merely to understand situations, power and phenomena but to change them, to eradicate inequality'.
