September 10, 2004
German social and political philosopher to speak at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The contemporary social and political German philosopher Jürgen Habermas will speak on Oct. 15 at Purdue University.
Habermas, professor emeritus of Johann-Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt Germany, will present "The Kantian Project of Cosmopolitan Law" from 4:30-7 p.m. in the Class of 1950 Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
"Jürgen Habermas is among the most important social and political theorists living today," said Martin Beck Matustik, a Purdue professor of philosophy who studied under Habermas from 1989-91 as a Fulbright doctoral student in Frankfurt. "It was an amazing time to be working with this master of democratic theory and international law – the Berlin Wall came down in Germany and the Velvet Revolution took place in what was then still Czechoslovakia."
Habermas is known for his writings on international law and politics, ideas for reforming the United Nations, the new constitution of the expanded European union, and the legacy of the Holocaust and fascism in Germany. His most recent work addresses religion and politics, specifically the problems of tolerance and fundamentalism in secular states, said Matustik, who in 2001 wrote the only English-language scholarly biography on Habermas.
Habermas, a visiting professor of philosophy at Northwestern University, has written two dozen books, including "Knowledge and Human Interests," "The Theory of Communicative Action" and "Between Facts and Norms." He also is known for his interview in "Philosophy in a Time of Terror – Dialogues with Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida," which was edited by Giovanna Borradori.
He is the recent 2004 recipient of the Kyoto Prize for Arts and Philosophy, which includes a cash gift of $450,000. His other awards include Denmark's Sonning Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Publishers and Spain's Prince of Asturias Prize. He also has been named one of the world's 100 most influential people in the 20th century by the April issue of Time magazine.
Habermas' lecture is sponsored by the English and philosophy doctorate program and interdisciplinary studies with contributions from the departments of Philosophy, Communication, Political Science, and Sociology and Anthropology in the School of Liberal Arts.
Writer: Amy Patterson-Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Source: Martin Beck Matustik, 496-3501, mmatustk@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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Habermas' visit to Purdue
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