The influential German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas died on Saturday at the age of 96 in Starnberg. The Suhrkamp Verlag confirmed the death citing the family. Politicians and intellectuals pay tribute to the master thinker for his contribution to democratic debate.
Jürgen Habermas, born on June 18, 1929, in Düsseldorf, shaped German intellectual history as a representative of the second generation of the Frankfurt School. His career began in the 1950s at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt with Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno. He earned his PhD in 1954 in Bonn with a thesis on Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and habilitated in 1961 in Marburg with 'Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit', a work still considered groundbreaking on the foundations of societal-critical thinking committed to democratic traditions. In 1964, he took over Horkheimer's chair in philosophy and sociology at the University of Frankfurt, holding it until 1971, a period of student protests. In the 1970s, he led Max Planck Institutes in Bavaria before returning to Frankfurt in 1983 and teaching until his emeritus status in 1994. In his later years, he lived on Lake Starnberg, had been married since 1955, and had three children. His major works include 'Erkenntnis und Interesse' (1968), which emphasizes that knowledge depends on interests, and 'Theorie des kommunikativen Handelns' (1981), which sees the normative foundations of society in language. In 2019, he published the extensive 'Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie' with 1750 pages on the relationship between faith and knowledge. Habermas engaged politically in topics such as the student movement, reunification, NATO missions, terrorism, the banking crisis, and recently Corona, the Ukraine war, and the Middle East conflict. Biographer Stefan Müller-Doohm explained that the experience of World War II shaped his commitment to democracy. Roman Yos described him as 'very active, very alert, mentally precisely focused'. Following his death, numerous figures expressed tributes. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called him a 'great enlightener' who taught the ethos of democratic discourse. Chancellor Friedrich Merz referred to him as a 'beacon in a stormy sea'. Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer praised his discourse theory as a framework for open exchange of opinions. Gregor Gysi saw him as 'Germany's greatest philosopher in many decades'. Minister President Boris Rhein highlighted his connection to Hesse and Frankfurt, Hendrik Wüst the power of reason. Rainer Forst judged his work as 'unique'.
