Jürgen Habermas and the public intellectual in modern democratic life

This paper provides an overview of Jürgen Habermas's writings as a public intellectual and relates this work to recent debates about the proper relationship of theory to practice. In addition to being one of the most influential continental philosophers of the postwar era, Habermas is also the leading public intellectual of the Federal Republic of Germany and increasingly of the European Union as well. Unfortunately, his political writings have not received the attention they deserve. As a result, he is often misconstrued as an ideal theorist who is both ignorant of and apathetic toward ‘real’ politics. By showing how his philosophy relates to his political engagement, I present Habermas as a model for how the philosopher can apply theoretical insights to political developments in an indirect, mediated manner that focuses on debates within the democratic public sphere. This approach has distinct advantages when compared to active participation in the policymaking process and the direct application of philosophy to political practice, both of which threaten the principle of democratic equality in the public sphere.