Description
Book SynopsisA major new book by one of the leading philosophers and social thinkers in the world today. This book examines the tension between the spread of naturalistic views (exemplified by the rise of biogenetics), on the one hand, and the rise of religious orthodoxies and revitalization of religious traditions, on the other.
Trade Review"A remarkable set of essays. The reader is again awed by the scope of Habermas' project, the wealth of his command over European and Anglo-American scholarship, and the systematic integrity of his conclusions."
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion"[T]here is a rich material for reflection in these essays for those interested in a variety of topics, ranging from philosophy of mind, questions of determinism and free will, the history of modern philosophy, and problems of truth and meaning to the nature of democracy and the possibilities of a new world order. Habermas manages to integrate his discussion of these diverse problems in a way which is regrettably not common in English-speaking philosophy, and for this reason above all this is a book which is well worth reading."
Philosophy "The volume will be of interest to all students of social, moral and political philosophy as well as philosophy of religion and philosophy of science."
Marx and Philosophy
"A major study by a prominent German philosopher reflecting on the tension between the spread of naturalistic worldviews and the revival of religious orthodoxies and their political influence ... the arguments elucidated are significant for our time."
Scientific and Medical Network
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1
Part I The Intersubjective Constitution of Norm-governed Thought 9
1 Public Space and Political Public Sphere – The Biographical Roots of Two Motifs in my Thought 11
2 Communicative Action and the Detranscendentalized “Use of Reason” 24
3 On the Architectonics of Discursive Differentiation: A Brief Response to a Major Controversy 77
Part II Religious Pluralism and Civic Solidarity 99
4 Prepolitical Foundations of the Constitutional State? 101
5 Religion in the Public Sphere: Cognitive Presuppositions for the “Public Use of Reason” by Religious and Secular Citizens 114
Part III Naturalism and Religion 149
6 Freedom and Determinism 151
7 “I Myself am Part of Nature” – Adorno on the Intrication of Reason in Nature: Reflections on the Relation between Freedom and Unavailability 181
8 The Boundary between Faith and Knowledge: On the Reception and Contemporary Importance of Kant’s Philosophy of Religion 209
Part IV Tolerance 249
9 Religious Tolerance as Pacemaker for Cultural Rights 251
10 Equal Treatment of Cultures and the Limits of Postmodern Liberalism 271
11 A Political Constitution for the Pluralist World Society? 312
Index 353
