Habermas, a German philosopher, sociologist, and political scientist belonging to the tradition of critical theory, is known for his concepts of the public sphere and communicative action. In particular, he focuses on the foundations of social theory and epistemology; the analysis of advanced capitalist industrial society and democracy; and the rule of law and contemporary politics within a critical social-evolutionary framework. Ranked among the top in the list of the world’s top 100 intellectuals and one of the few living philosophers influencing the modern world, Habermas became an associate professor in 1961. From 1961 to 1964, he taught philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. In 1964, he became a professor of philosophy and sociology at the University of Frankfurt.
From 1971 to 1981, he served as director of the Max Planck Institute. Habermas’s defense of modernity and civil society has served as a source of inspiration for many scholars and has been regarded as the most significant philosophical alternative to poststructuralism and postmodern theses.