What is Jürgen Habermas?
{{redlinks|date=November 2011}} {{Infobox Philosopher |region = [[Western Philosophy]] |era = 20th century |color = #B0C4DE |name = Jürgen Habermas |image = JuergenHabermas.jpg |birth = {{birth date and age|1929|6|19}} |school_tradition = [[Critical theory]] |main_interests = [[Social Theory]]{{·}} [[Epistemology]]<br />[[Political theory]]{{·}} [[Pragmatics]] |notable_ideas = [[Communicative rationality]]<br />[[Discourse ethics]]<br />[[Deliberative democracy]]<br />[[Universal pragmatics]]<br />[[Communicative action]] |influences = [[Max Weber|Weber]]{{·}} [[Émile Durkheim|Durkheim]]{{·}} [[George Herbert Mead|Mead]]{{·}} [[Karl Marx|Marx]]{{·}}[[Wilhelm Dilthey|Dilthey]]{{·}} [[Talcott Parsons|Parsons]]{{·}} [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]{{·}} [[Martin Heidegger|Heidegger]]{{·}} [[Jean Piaget|Piaget]]{{·}} [[Max Horkheimer|Horkheimer]]{{·}} [[Theodor W. Adorno|Adorno]]{{·}} [[Herbert Marcuse|Marcuse]]{{·}} [[Hannah Arendt|Arendt]]{{·}} [[Ludwig Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]]{{·}} [[Charles Peirce|Peirce]]{{·}} [[J. L. Austin|Austin]] {{·}}[[Gershom Scholem|Scholem]] |influenced = [[Seyla Benhabib|Benhabib]]{{·}} [[Rainer Forst|Forst]]{{·}} [[Nancy Fraser|Fraser]]{{·}} [[Axel Honneth|Honneth]]<br />[[Antanas Mockus|Mockus]]{{·}} [[Hans-Hermann Hoppe|Hoppe]]{{·}} [[Andrew Feenberg|Feenberg]]<br />[[Lutz Wingert|Wingert]] {{·}}[[Georg Henrik von Wright]] }} '''Jürgen Habermas''' (born June 18, 1929) is a [[Germany|German]] [[philosopher]] and [[sociologist]], or someone who studies different societies. He uses a type of theory called [[critical theory]], where he studies how people use power. He also uses the theory of American [[pragmatism]], which studies if something is true or not by the effects of actions. He is known for his work on the theory of the [[public sphere]]. He studies power in democracy, and politics. He also studies how people develop a society through language and [[communication studies|communication]], and tries